Wayward Hearts
by Lowrider
Summary: True love has a way of finding you at the must unexpected times.  A Soshirou (Sora x Koushirou) story for your consideration.  Rating for language, mild violence, mature topics and adult situations.  Story is COMPLETE!  ^_^x
1. Author's Foreword

Author's Foreword  
  
NinjaCody: Gather around, everybody! It's time for another one of Lowrider's stories! You know, the guy who writes   
stuff that makes you go, "Why the heck would anyone write about that couple?"  
  
(Lowrider steps up behind his assistant and delivers his patented Boot-to-the-Head™ to him)  
  
NinjaCody: Owww….you booted me in the head!  
  
Lowrider: Can the commentary, arubaito-boy*, and get on with the disclaimer. (*arubaito = Japanese for "part-time job")  
  
NinjaCody: The things I do for a buck. Lowrider doesn't own Digimon, any of the characters, or a sense of humor for   
that matter.  
  
Lowrider: Spoken like a guy who really does want to be in a Yaoi fic sometime.  
  
NinjaCody: I already called your bluff on that one. You said you didn't write that way!  
  
Lowrider: There's a first time for everything, kid. Don't tempt me.  
  
NinjaCody: (gulps audibly) Umm…anyhow, he doesn't own Digimon or any of the characters and stuff, and is a really   
snazzy dresser to boot!  
  
(Lowrider smiles widely, adjusting his shades and smoothing out his all-black outfit including trenchcoat.)  
  
Lowrider: Much better. You'll get the hang of this gig soon enough.  
  
NinjaCody: And for those wondering, I am available and my resume can be seen at…  
  
(Lowrider delivers another Boot-to-the-Head™, knocking NinjaCody off the stage)  
  
NinjaCody: (dazed) Mind if I just lie down here for a while…??  
  
Lowrider: Don't worry, folks, I've made sure he has good medical coverage. He'll be fine. On with the pre-fic commentary!  
  
In my quest to find a coupling that just hasn't been written about I came up with the idea for this one. This one may   
be even more out there than Miyakeru (that's Miyako/Yolei x Takeru/TK), which means I have a moral imperative to try   
and make a story about it. If you're of an open mind, I think you'll find this to be a fun, entertaining, and sweet   
story. Like my other stories, it's mostly about how love has a tendency to happen when and where you least expect   
it. Such has been my experience in life.  
  
Here's my cast of characters, as well as ages for your reference:  
  
Sora and Matt - 19  
Izzy - 18  
Yolei - 17  
TK, Kari - 15  
  
The rest you can figure out for yourselves. And once again, no Digimon in this fic, just the human characters. That's   
just how I am. Comments and e-mail is always welcome, and flames…hmm, well considering I have yet to actually be flamed   
for anything I've written I dunno how I'll deal with them. Eh, who cares. Enjoy the fic, folks! 


	2. A Twist of Fate

A Twist of Fate  
  
Another year loomed before her. Try as she might have over the summer to put out of her mind all that had happened the   
prior year, going back to campus brought back all the memories of what had once been, and how it had all fallen apart.   
In hindsight it was totally ironic that when they finally had the freedom to be as close as they wanted to be, they   
couldn't stand being around each other. Finally, he had been the one to suggest that they stop seeing each other. At   
the time, she agreed to it if for no other reason than any more close contact and what was left of their friendship might   
have been jeopardized as well. Now, however, she couldn't deny that she still felt an attraction to him, even if she   
couldn't muster the courage to ask him if he'd changed his mind at all.  
  
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she mulled over all of this while lying on her bed at home, staring at the   
ceiling. Somehow, to her, it wasn't fair. She had been so certain of what they'd had together that she still didn't   
understand why things had happened as they had last year. Why couldn't she love someone without ending up hurting that   
person or someone else in the process? It just didn't make any sense. It was a conundrum that no one she knew could   
solve, and as the guardian of the Crest of Love, Sora Takenouchi was deeply troubled by it all.  
  
'I've done everything I can think of, and I just can't hang onto anybody.' she thought as she let her mind wander. 'I   
tried to be into guy things to get Taichi to notice me, and that sure didn't work. Then again, Tai was never the   
sharpest knife in the drawer. Then I went the other way and was all girly for Yamato, and that seemed to work for a   
while. But then Tai started getting all jealous, and I hardly saw him during Senior year in high school. And then last   
year happened.  
  
'Damn you, Ishida. Nothing I ever did for you was good enough, was it? I just couldn't be your #1 love. It was always   
the music and everything that went along with it. I knew it was important to you, but...we got to college, and music   
was all you ever did in your free time! I saw you less and less every day, and then...then the fights started. You   
were so scary when you were all riled up...I couldn't believe you were the same person I thought I loved.  
  
'And now I'm all alone again. If this were baseball, I'd have two strikes against me, with no one on base, two outs, in   
the bottom of the ninth inning. Everyone else I knew is either otherwise involved or I've completely lost contact with   
them. I don't know how long it's been since I heard from Joe or Mimi or Tai or anybody for that matter. Sure I've   
made some new friends at college, but they weren't through all that we were. They don't hold any special space in my   
heart as my true friends do.  
  
'Well, enough moping for now. Guess I'd better take one last check around and make sure I've got everything.'  
  
Sora jumped up off of her bed and checked around. Sure enough, all her things were packed for college yet again. She   
headed out to her car after giving her mother a goodbye hug and drove off for college, idly wondering what kind of fun   
the fates would have with her this year.  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"Well I can promise you, I'm one roommate who won't bail on you halfway through the year Sora." Emi said as she sat on   
her lower bunk bed. Emi was the closest friend Sora had made at college so far. She was a bit taller than Sora with   
light brown hair that had blonde highlights, brown eyes, and dark tanned skin. She was something of a go-getter, and   
a foreign language major. Aside from Japanese she spoke fluent English and Chinese, and was beginning to pick up   
Spanish from her longtime boyfriend Hiroshi, who was also a foreign language major. She and Sora had hit it off well   
their Freshman year, and Emi had been there for her the most after the breakup with Yamato.  
  
Sora had taken the top bunk and was up top making her bed. She'd always had an affinity for heights, which she   
attributed to all the time she spent riding on Birdramon's back. Besides which, Emi had stated that she knew if she   
took the top bunk she'd end up falling out of bed and killing herself.  
  
"Much appreciated, Emi. And don't worry, I'll respect your privacy when you and Hiroshi want some alone time." Sora   
said, giving her roomie a knowing wink. Emi broke down into a fit of giggles at the notion as Sora jumped down to the   
floor. "I'm going to go get a soda. You want anything?"  
  
"I'm good. I've got more unpacking yet to be done."  
  
"Suit yourself!"  
  
Sora zipped out her door and took the elevator down to the first floor from the fourth floor where she and Emi lived.   
The doors opened, and someone was right in front of the opening doorway with a laundry basket overfull with clothes in   
their hands. It was so full, they couldn't see over it and they began walking in as Sora was trying   
to get out.  
  
"Hey, hang on a sec! People are trying to get off!" she yelled, pushing the mass of clothing backwards.  
  
"Whoa! Hey, quit it! I'm losing my balaaaaaa!!!!" the person yelled. The person slipped and fell backwards,   
spilling the clothing over top of them.  
  
"Oh geez, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to knock you over!" Sora said as she began to help pick things up.  
  
"No biggie. I'm used to being pushed around." the muffled voice said under the clothing. "I'm hoping college will   
be different."  
  
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."  
  
"That's good to know. Say, you sound familiar."  
  
"Oh come on, that's a lame pickup line."  
  
"No, I'm serious!" the person said as they sat up, a sweater still hanging over their head. "Eh, it's probably just   
wishful thinking. I used to have a lot of friends, but I've lost contact with pretty much all of them."  
  
"Likewise. It seems to happen along with getting out of high school. All your old friends fall off the face of the   
earth."  
  
"Great. Just absolutely prodigious."  
  
"Tell me about..." Sora stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening. 'No way...it couldn't be...but...'  
  
Sora stood up slowly, looking down at the person, who she could tell now was a guy.  
  
"I only know one person who talks like that." she said warily.  
  
The young man reached up and pulled the sweater away from him, revealing himself to be a short, red-haired young man   
with brown eyes. He looked up at her, blinked a couple of times, then rubbed his eyes and looked at her again.  
  
"Sora?" he asked.  
  
"Izzy?" she replied.  
  
"Holy cow, it's you!!!" they both said in unison. Izzy jumped up from the floor and quickly hugged Sora, who hugged   
him back.  
  
"How did you end up coming here for college?" Sora asked him after they finished rejoicing.  
  
"Scholarships." Izzy said simply. "I've got a full free ride here so long as I keep my marks high."  
  
"That's amazing! But I shouldn't expect any less from the only genius I know."  
  
Izzy just shrugged and went back to picking his things up again.  
  
"Oh God, Izzy! I'm so sorry about that before!" Sora said, quickly going back to helping him.  
  
"Hey, you didn't know it was me. No worries."  
  
"So you're living here, too?"  
  
"I'm on the third floor, room 315."  
  
"Heh, that's exactly below where I'm living."  
  
"Oh great, now I'll never get any sleep with you and Matt up there." Izzy said with a groan.  
  
"Oh Izzy...that's right, you're the only person who didn't hear." Sora said, suddenly remembering.  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
"Matt and I...we broke up last year."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Heh...this is going to be bad, isn't it?"  
  
"How in the blue blazes did I get left in the dark on that one?!"  
  
"C'mon. Let's get your stuff up to your room. I'll help you out, and I'll fill you in on everything you've missed   
out on."  
  
Sora took an armful of clothing from his basket and headed into the elevator. It promised to be a long afternoon of   
storytelling and explanations.  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"I still can't believe this." Izzy said as he continued to hook up his computer. Sora sat backwards in a chair with   
her arms folded, watching Izzy assemble his machine. "I mean, everything you two were to each other...it just doesn't   
seem right."  
  
"You're not the first person to say all this, Izzy." Sora told him.  
  
"I know. It's just, well...I guess I just think it's particularly wrong for him to have treated you like that. I   
mean, you and I go way back Sora."  
  
"Yeah, that's true. I still remember how we met back in grade school. You had fallen into some mud, and were crying   
because you thought your mom would be mad at you for getting your shorts dirty so Tai and I helped you get cleaned up   
and then we all walked home."  
  
"And we walked home together from there on every day." Izzy added with a smile. "Well, at least until junior high.   
Then it was just Tai and me. And then in high school, just me."  
  
"Oh Izzy, none of us ever meant to make you feel left out. You just...seemed to be interested in other things, and   
we didn't want to bother you."  
  
Izzy slid out from under his desk and sat up, looking at Sora.  
  
"None of you were ever a bother to me, Sora. Least of all you. I felt like I just couldn't keep up with you all   
because I wasn't an athlete, or a singer, or anything like that."  
  
"We would've loved to have you along with us, Izzy. You never held us back or anything crazy like that. Hell,   
sometimes Tai would wish you were around because it just wasn't as fun without you."  
  
"Well, hindsight is 20/20." Izzy said, hopping up. "Just one more connection to make...there."  
  
Izzy powered his system up, and in mere moments his machine was humming away silently, connected to the Internet   
and constantly checking his e-mail.  
  
"You always had a way with those things." Sora said, amazed at the speed that he'd put it all together at.  
  
"Everyone has something they're good at."  
  
"Well, almost everyone."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Nothing. Well, I've got some more unpacking to finish up myself."  
  
"Okay. Hey Sora, I'm glad I met you again. It's good to have a friend around."  
  
"That goes double for me, Izzy. Hey, wanna come to lunch with me and the girls? We can show you around and stuff   
afterwards. You are a Freshman after all."  
  
"Prodigious! Count me in!"  
  
"Great! We'll stop by later on and pick you up."  
  
Izzy waved goodbye to Sora and went back to sorting his things out. Sora headed back up to her room, a smile on her   
face. Suddenly, the year was already looking to be a lot better.  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"So Sora hasn't been making it all up, then." Emi said, looking across the cafeteria table at Izzy. "Your name isn't   
really 'Izzy', is it?"  
  
"No, that's just been my nickname since I can't remember when." Izzy said with a laugh. "Koushirou Izumi. But   
really, you can call me 'Izzy'. Now why did you think Sora made me up?"  
  
"Well we never saw any of the friends she ever mentioned to us other than Yamato. So we kinda started joking that   
she made up her friends so she wouldn't be lonely." Rei said. Rei was the second of Sora's college friends.   
She was something of a videophile, and spent most of her free time watching TV or movies. She had short, black   
hair and dark brown eyes, and was shorter than even Izzy was. Rei was a drama major, and insisted that all of her   
watching was studying to be a better actress.  
  
"Why would Sora ever be lonely?"  
  
"You weren't here last year when she and Matt broke up. Sora was pretty depressed after it all happened. We did   
our best to try and get her out of her funk, but she was just heartbroken." Said Kimiko, who spoke up at last.   
Kimiko was the last of Sora's college friends. She was the tallest of the group, with extremely long, chestnut brown   
hair and blue eyes. Kimiko was a music major, her instrument of choice being cello. She was one of the most talented   
musicians on campus, but had a tendency to be a bit high-strung and easily excitable.   
  
"I really wish I had known about this sooner. I would've tried to contact her."  
  
Izzy made a face of semi-disgust, thinking about how Sora must've felt. The other three girls exchanged a glance at   
each other, and then looked back at Izzy.  
  
"So, how far back do you and Sora go?" Rei asked, a smile playing across her face.  
  
"Huh? I've known Sora since grade school. Why?"  
  
"Oh, just curious. That's all."  
  
"So you're pretty good friends?" Emi asked.  
  
"Well yeah, we've been through a lot in the past." Izzy said. "Although we do try not to talk about the past too much.   
Personal reasons and all that."  
  
The three girls nodded in agreement, and were about to question Izzy further, when Sora finally arrived with her lunch.   
She sat down next to Izzy and got ready to dig in, only to curse quietly to herself.  
  
"I forgot a drink again! Augh! I do this every time!" she complained.  
  
"Only because you used to let Ma…er, uh…" Kimiko said, trailing off at the end before she mentioned too much about Matt.  
  
"I'll go get you one, Sora. I'm thirsty anyways." Izzy said, standing up.  
  
"Thanks Izzy. I appreciate it."  
  
Izzy nodded and headed over to get some drinks for them. Sora turned to her friends, who were trying to play innocent.  
  
"Okay, how much did you bug him?" she asked plainly.  
  
"He seemed perfectly willing to answer our questions." Rei told her.  
  
"Probably only because you guys wouldn't have let him go without getting some dirt on him or me."  
  
"Oh come on Sora, we're just curious is all. We didn't mean anything bad by it." Emi told her. "And besides…"  
  
"Besides…?" Sora repeated.  
  
"He's kinda cute, you know? In a way." Emi finished, looking over in Izzy's direction.  
  
"Emi, Hiroshi wouldn't like to hear you talking like that." Sora told her, smirking at her friend.  
  
"Who said I was interested in him for me?"  
  
"Emi…don't even joke like that right now." Sora said, a bit annoyed. "Izzy is an old friend of mine, and I'm happy   
to see him again. Besides, I just…not now."  
  
"Suit yourself." Emi said. "But don't be surprised if someone else picks him up then."  
  
"I'd be happy for him. Izzy deserves to have someone."  
  
"So do you, Sora." Kimiko said. Emi and Rei nodded in agreement.  
  
"Just leave it be!" Sora told them.  
  
"Hey there. Did I miss something?" Izzy asked as he set a can of soda down for Sora and himself.  
  
"Nothing much. The girls were telling me how much they were bugging you before." Sora told him, quickly changing gears.  
  
"Oh, it was no bother. I'm happy to make new friends."  
  
Izzy smiled at the three other girls, who giggled amongst themselves. Sora just shook her head and continued with   
lunch. After lunch, Emi, Kimiko and Rei headed off to sign up for classes while Sora and Izzy walked back towards the   
dormitories.  
  
"They really didn't bother me, Sora. Don't be so hard on them." Izzy told her.  
  
"I just know what it's like to be new and just assailed with questions by people. I don't want you to feel like   
you're being pushed around anymore." Sora told him.  
  
"I know I'll be fine so long as I have a friend like you around."  
  
"Likewise, Izzy. I hate to make mention of if, but I kinda wish you'd been here last year. It would've helped me   
immensely."  
  
"I wish I could've been there for you, Sora. I've always thought highly of you, and to know that you were put through   
all of that alone, when I know you didn't have to be alone, well…it kinda gets to me is all. You were always there   
for me when I was in trouble, or when it seemed like I was all alone."  
  
"Izzy, you never owed me anything for any of that."  
  
"That's not what I meant." Izzy said. "I just…I wanted to be able to do the same for you. You know, be there for you   
when you needed it most. I thought maybe Matt would always be that person for you, but now…well, just know that   
whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right there. Or at least one floor down from you."  
  
"Izzy…that's sweet of you to say. Since when are you Mr. Smooth?"  
  
"Oh come on, Sora. I'm still an introverted super geek at heart."  
  
"Heh, so the more things change the more they stay the same?"  
  
"Maybe something like that."  
  
"Then maybe we need to work on getting you to open up some." Sora said, stopping and looking at him. "What we need   
is a party."  
  
"I've never been a party kind of person, Sora…" Izzy said hesitantly.  
  
"All the more reason we should have one!"  
  
"Sora…"  
  
"No 'buts', Izzy. You leave the planning to me. Trust me, okay?"  
  
"Okay, I trust you Sora." Izzy said begrudgingly. "But let's concentrate on getting going with classes first, okay?"  
  
"Right on."  
  
The pair reached the dorms, missing the elevator just as it headed up. As they stood waiting for it to come back, both   
of them in turn stole a few glances at the other.  
  
'I hate to admit it, but Emi's right. Izzy is kinda cute anymore. I never noticed before because I was so star struck   
by Matt, but putting all the geekiness aside and he's really pretty handsome.' Sora thought. 'He'll find someone good   
here, I know it.'  
  
'I've always thought Sora was pretty, but she seems even moreso now. Maybe because she's been at this for a year now,   
and she's more herself than before. She seems so natural now, like this is who she really is. Heh, if I thought I had   
a chance I might…nah, who're you kidding Izumi? She probably considers you more as a brother anyway.' Izzy thought.  
  
The elevator came, and Izzy and Sora rode it up to the third floor, where Izzy got off.  
  
"See you later on, Sora?" he asked.  
  
"Anytime, Izzy. Take it easy!" Sora replied as the doors closed. Upon arriving at her floor, Sora entered her room   
and hopped up onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She played Izzy's words back through her head once again as   
she relaxed.  
  
"…whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right here." He'd said.  
  
"I may just take you up on that offer, Izzy." She said to herself with a smile. "More than once…" 


	3. A Dash of Curiosity

A Dash of Curiosity  
  
Izzy sighed as he stared at his computer screen blankly. The weekend had come a lot faster than he'd thought it would,   
and he was faced with a situation that he was not exceedingly familiar with.  
  
"It's 1:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, and all of my schoolwork is done already." he said to himself, half-amazed.   
"I wonder if the rest of the year will be like this. This stuff was way too easy. But now what do I do? I don't   
really feel like sitting in front of my computer all day. Heh, I wonder what the others would say if they heard me say   
that?"  
  
"We'd probably just look at you like you had two heads, Izzy." Sora said from his doorway. Izzy jumped a bit as he   
just then noticed her standing there.  
  
"How long have you been there?"  
  
"Long enough to hear you actually complain about not having any more work to do."  
  
"It's not that, it's just that I don't know what to do now. Before, I always had some kind of studying ahead of me to   
do, and everything was pretty definite. But now, I actually have some freedom and I don't know what to do with myself."  
  
"Why not come hang out with us?"  
  
"Won't people start wondering if all I do is hang out with girls?"  
  
"Izzy, I think if anything you'll start to make some guys jealous."  
  
"Hmm, you have a point." he said thoughtfully. "In that case, I'm all for it!"  
  
Sora had to laugh at Izzy's comment as he hurriedly shut his computer down. He jumped up from his chair and joined   
Sora after closing and locking his door.  
  
"Hey, how come I haven't seen your roommate yet?" Sora asked as they headed for the stairs.  
  
"Shinnosuke is a real workaholic, at least that's what I gather about him. Even moreso than me. He's still at the   
bio lab, watching his experiment. I at least know when it's time to call it quits."  
  
"That's true, and I was about to comment on that, by the way."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's good to see you have interest in things other than just studying and computers, Izzy."  
  
"There's always been more to me than most people realize. It's just that nobody ever bothered to ask me. Of course,   
that was equally my fault for not being more outgoing."  
  
"Well, that's one thing college is good for. We'll work on getting you to be more outgoing."  
  
"Hey, I'd say I'm already making progress. I'm headed up to hang out with a group of girls, after all."  
  
"Very true. Hey, toss in some snacks and a little music and we'd have an impromptu party on our hands! And remember,   
I did say we'd try to have one sometime."  
  
"Just not too crazy, okay Sora?" Izzy asked as he held open the door to the stairs for her. Sora thanked him as she   
stepped by him and started up the stairs.  
  
"No worries, Izzy. We'll just leave the door open and anyone who wants to drop by for a while can. And since it's   
Emi's and mine room, we can kick people out whenever we want." Sora told him reassuringly.  
  
"Works for me."  
  
The two finally reached Sora's floor and headed over to her room only to find the door closed and a towel draped over   
the doorknob. Sora saw it and instantly groaned in frustration.  
  
"Dammit, Emi! You pick the worst times, honestly!" she said, knowing full well that her roommate wouldn't hear her.  
  
"I don't get it, what's with the towel?" Izzy asked cluelessly.  
  
"I've been 'sexiled' from my room."  
  
"Come again?"  
  
"It's a sign you use to let your roommate know that you're with someone and want some privacy."  
  
"Oh." Izzy said simply. Then it dawned on him what Sora really meant. "Ohhhhh...I getcha. Well, now what? I doubt   
we could have much of a party with just the two of us at my room. Like I said, no one ever comes by."  
  
"I dunno. Kimiko and Rei are long gone, too. They probably headed into town to window shop. Rats!" Sora said as she   
began to walk along towards the elevator.  
  
"Well, I don't know about you, but I could use a cup of coffee." Izzy said, catching up with her. "I saw where there's   
a coffee shop here on campus."  
  
"Oh yeah, The Green Door. Sure, why not? We could catch up some more on lost times, and I could go for a double   
chocolate chocolate chip cookie right about now."  
  
"Is that amount of chocolate healthy for you?" Izzy asked skeptically. Sora just chuckled as she looked back at Izzy   
before boarding the elevator.  
  
"Probably not, but it sure as hell tastes good."  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
The Green Door was aptly named, as the entrance was an oversized door painted solid green. For that matter, most of the   
interior was green as well. It was a place for students to get together, maybe study, and have a snack and coffee or   
tea. From time to time there would be live music or readings done on the small stage as well. On this particular day,   
though, there were only a few other people there either reading books or just chatting away. It was the perfect setting   
for two old friends to relax and trade stories.  
  
"And here I thought you were kidding about that cookie. I mean, I didn't think they actually made it." Izzy said as he   
looked at the dark brown cookie that Sora held. It almost looked like there were more chips and chunks of chocolate in   
it than there was cookie. Izzy took a sip from his coffee as he watched Sora munch away. "I hope the rest of your   
eating habits aren't as bad."  
  
"I only get these every once in a while. A girl has to have a source for chocolate after all." Sora said between   
bites. "I remember after things fell apart last year I had one of these a week for two months."  
  
"Mind if I ask something out of curiosity?"  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Well...have you seen him since then?"  
  
Sora sighed, half-wishing that she hadn't brought the subject up again. She reasoned, though, that Izzy was just   
asking out of his own concern and set her cookie down to answer him.  
  
"Thankfully, not much. He still seems to be buried in his music in his free time, or at least that's what I assume."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sold on the story that he spent all that time last year just on music. Sometimes when I saw him I   
got a really weird feeling around him, and there were other times that he just didn't act himself at all. Unfortunately,   
I have no proof that he wasn't just another tortured musician, and I didn't want to accuse him of anything unless I   
knew for sure."  
  
"Aren't you still friends, though?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"You guess? Sora, all things set aside we've all always been each other's friend no matter what."  
  
"It's just really hard for me to see him and not remember everything we were, and how it all just seemed to disintegrate   
overnight."  
  
"I can appreciate that I suppose."  
  
"I just...look, can we switch the conversation around?"  
  
"No problem. Sorry if I was too invasive."  
  
"No, it's not that. I just don't want to think about it all right now." Sora took another bite of her cookie, which   
helped her clear her thoughts. "So what about you? How did your senior year go?"  
  
"Honestly, it just kinda flew on by. With you guys all gone to college, and what with studies and exams, I hardly had   
a minute to myself. I barely saw any of the younger group either for that matter."  
  
"What about Homecoming? Or Prom? Who'd you go with?"  
  
"Sora, I didn't...I didn't go to either of those things."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"What would be the point? It was just another place for me to stick out like a sore thumb. I never belonged to any   
of the groups or cliques there, and they certainly didn't want anything to do with me either, unless it involved   
tormenting me. No, last year I just decided to be a hermit. It didn't do much for my social life, but at least   
I didn't get bothered that much."  
  
"I'm sorry it wasn't a better experience for you, Izzy."  
  
"Bah, it was worth it in the end. I'm here on a full free ride after all, and I even got some college level credits to   
boot. If I'd gotten a few more, I'd effectively be a sophomore already."  
  
"Now that would be cool. You were always smart enough to be ahead of your class."  
  
"Maybe, but I was never smart enough to develop any kind of social graces."  
  
"Give it some time. I'm sure you'll come into your own here."  
  
Izzy nodded, taking a long sip of his coffee. Sora finished her cookie and stretched out in her chair a bit.  
  
"So what else do you guys do around here for fun?" Izzy asked, finishing his coffee.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask." Sora said, a glint in her eye. "That all depends on what you might be interested in doing."  
  
"Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I've just opened a whole new can of worms?" Izzy said, rolling his eyes. He   
then suddenly felt himself being tugged by his arm as Sora dragged him off, determined to show him just how much fun   
could be had around campus.  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"You're gonna love this, Izzy." Sora said, giggling excitedly. "It's right up your alley."  
  
"So you've been to this place before?" Izzy asked curiously.  
  
"I come here every now and again when I want to blow off some steam. Or sometimes the girls and I come down and just   
get silly. It's great."  
  
"This I have to see, then."  
  
The two rounded a corner and stopped as Sora pointed the location out. A bright neon sign indicated the entrance to a   
building where loud music thumped out of the front doors. The sign read, "The Circuit Breaker".  
  
"Whoa…what kind of place is it?" Izzy asked, his voice giving away his amazement.  
  
"I'll show you." Sora told him, pulling him along.  
  
Sora led Izzy inside and down the main spiral staircase, smiling as she watched his reaction. The Circuit Breaker was a   
completely laid out entertainment center, complete with dance floor, restaurant seating, popular music, pool tables, and   
a section of arcade games.  
  
"I wish you hadn't shown me this place, Sora!" Izzy said over the din.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because now I want to spend all my free time here!"  
  
"Well don't get too carried away. C'mon, let's play a couple games!"  
  
"Since when are you into video games?"  
  
"Since they just have the old classics here!"  
  
Izzy followed her down to the arcade area and, sure enough, all the games were old classics. Donkey Kong, Pac Man,   
Dragon's Lair, and a couple dozen other games were all about. Sora quickly went to the Ms. Pac Man machine.  
  
"My all time favorite here. And my name is still on the high score board, too!" she said, pointing it out. Izzy   
looked at it and there at the top of the list was "S.T" with an amazingly high score.  
  
"Pretty impressive score!" he said as she started to play.  
  
"I had a higher score before, but a power blurb made me lose my game. I was really pissed after that incident."  
  
"Heh, I know that feeling. Believe me. I think I'll play a little Pole Position. Don't leave without me!"  
  
"Sure thing!"  
  
Izzy headed over and started playing as Sora got caught up in her own game. A few minutes later she groaned in   
disappointment as she stepped away from her machine.  
  
'Rats. I'm out of practice. Guess I'll need to spend some quality time down here some weekend and get back up to   
speed.' She thought to herself. 'I'd better check on Izzy.'  
  
Sora stepped over to the Pole Position machine and quietly watched over Izzy's shoulder as he raced along, taking turn   
after turn at excessively high speeds.  
  
'Man, he's good! I've never seen someone take turns like that before.' She thought. Moments later, he crossed the   
finish line in first place, and put up his name as "IZE" on the leader board. Sora leaned past him and her eyes went   
wide. He'd beaten the best time on the machine by almost 30 seconds.  
  
"How in the world did you pull that off?!" she asked, looking up at him.  
  
"Not my best time ever, but good enough. It's been a while since I played this one." Izzy said, stepping away from the   
machine.  
  
"Izzy, you totally destroyed the old record!"  
  
"I used to play these old games all the time when I was much younger. I was something else back then. I still have   
some of my old skills now, but I don't game as often or as much as I did back then."  
  
"That explains why you gave up soccer back then. You must've really loved games, then."  
  
"No, I gave up soccer for a different reason."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's too loud in here to talk, let's head back out!"  
  
Sora just nodded and headed back outside with Izzy. They started walking back towards the dorms as Izzy began to tell   
the story.  
  
"Just promise me one thing before I get started."  
  
"What's that?" Sora asked, looking at him curiously.  
  
"Don't be mad at Tai."  
  
"Why would I be mad at him?"  
  
"He's kinda the reason why I had to give up soccer."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"After we defeated Apocalymon all those years ago, I got the urge to be more active. I wanted to get better at soccer,   
so I asked Tai to help me practice over the summer one year. This was about the same time you lost interest in the   
game and started being more, well…"  
  
"Girly?"  
  
"Yeah, for lack of a better term. Anyhow, things went pretty well and I was making good progress until my accident."  
  
"Accident?"  
  
"We were working on a one-on-one drill, and Tai got a bit frustrated because I was doing pretty well. He didn't mean   
to do it, it just kinda happened."  
  
"What kinda happened?" Sora asked, concerned.  
  
"He kicked for the ball but ended up tripping me. I tumbled right into a rock and broke my leg."  
  
Sora's jaw dropped when she heard what had happened. She couldn't believe Tai would actually do something like that,   
but hearing it from Izzy told her that it couldn't be a lie.  
  
"I healed okay and all, but I gave up the game after that. I didn't want to lose Tai as a friend over something so   
silly like that. I think he got grounded for a month for it, though. We both felt bad about it, but we sorted it all   
out between the two of us before school started again."  
  
"I think I remember that year, mainly because I wondered why we didn't see more of you two back then."  
  
"Well, now you know why."  
  
"Still, I envy you Izzy. You were able to patch things up with him. I never was." Sora looked down at the pavement   
as they walked.  
  
"What? You mean you two still haven't spoken since your senior year?" Izzy asked, completely perplexed. Sora just   
slowly shook her head 'no', obviously none to happy about it. "I knew he was stubborn, but this borders on stupid!"  
  
"Don't say that! Tai has every right to hate me. I absolutely broke his heart, after all."  
  
"It's not his fault that he couldn't see how crazy you and…well…he was being too naïve, even for him." Izzy said,   
managing to divert himself from talking about Matt again in front of Sora.  
  
"It's just another way in which my life has been totally screwed up." Sora replied, sighing heavily.  
  
'This isn't right.' Izzy thought to himself as they continued to walk in silence. 'Sora's never done anything but try   
to be a good friend to everyone and a devoted girlfriend to Matt, and here she is all depressed because she can't make   
everyone happy. This is stupid! She should be happy! She deserves to be happy! I wish I'd known all of what was   
going on sooner, I would've helped out. Still, there's no reason I can't help now, even if it is too late to patch   
some things up.'  
  
"Thanks for being concerned for me, Izzy." Sora said after a long while. "You really don't know what it means to me   
to have a good friend around again."  
  
"Well, you do have Emi, Rei and Kimiko around too, Sora." Izzy reminded her. "They're there for you too."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't have the same kind of connection with them like we have, you know? They haven't seen all that we   
have, or done the stuff we've done together. They're my friends, and I appreciate them, but…you mean a lot more to me.   
And the same goes for the others, too."  
  
"I'm honored that you hold me in such high esteem Sora. I've always thought the same about you, and all the others as   
well."  
  
Sora looked up at Izzy again, and smiled at him at his comment. Izzy smiled back, happy to see her spirits were at   
least somewhat lifted again.  
  
The friends arrived back at the dorms and reached the elevator, riding back up to Sora's floor first. When they arrived   
at her room, the door was wide open and about 6 or 7 people were inside, talking, laughing, and dancing for what they   
could in the small, cramped room.  
  
"Figured you guys would start a party without me!" Sora said, looking in at Emi. "Have enough fun for now?"  
  
"Oh well don't you sound jealous." Emi retorted with a smirk as she hugged her boyfriend Hiroshi. "Come on in, you two!"  
  
"Looks like we get to party after all." Sora said, smiling back at Izzy.  
  
"Prodigious!" he proclaimed as he stepped past her into the room. Sora just laughed as she followed him in, eager to   
blow off some steam and let her worries flutter away.  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
It was about 2:00 AM when Izzy finally got back to his room. The party in Sora's room had pretty much died around   
midnight, but he'd spent the past 2 hours just sitting and talking with Sora and Emi about everything from Popsicles   
to shoes to books to relationships, and then somehow back to Popsicles again and before they knew it, it was really late.  
  
Izzy heard Shinnosuke snoring away in his upper bunk and breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the guy did know when   
to at least break for sleep. He hoped that he would never end up as much of a nervous wreck as his roommate was.   
He quietly went about getting ready for bed and then slipped into his bed, staring up at the underside of the bunk   
above him for a long while, and thinking.  
  
'I'm beginning to see what all I missed before, and I already wish I could go back in time and be more outgoing than I   
was. Still, the life I led up until now is what got me here anyway. And I can't argue with results.  
  
'I'm glad Sora is feeling better now, even though I can tell she's still troubled and hurting inside from all she's   
been put through. It's still not right. She always used to be so happy, and now…it seems like she just does some   
things to get her mind off of being miserable.  
  
'That settles it, then. I might not be able to directly help her out, but I can at least try and help bring her some   
closure.'  
  
Izzy settled down in his bed a bit more after making up his mind to help Sora out. He rolled over and stared at the   
wall as he relaxed for sleep.  
  
'I'm going to find Yamato.' He thought. 'And we're going to settle whatever happened come hell or high water. I just   
want Sora…to be happy…again.'  
  
Izzy drifted off to sleep, then, hoping only that Sora wouldn't be too upset with him for going through with it all. 


	4. A Shot of Reality

A Shot of Reality  
  
"I don't know how wise an idea this is, Izzy." Rei said to him over the lunch table. "All three of us offered to help Sora settle things between her and Matt, and she wouldn't have any of it."  
  
"That's why I want to do this without her knowing about it, Rei." Izzy told her, taking a drink of his soda. "I was able to find Matt's room number in the student directory, but I don't know where the building is. I was hoping you could help me out there."  
  
"Well if you think you have a better chance of pulling this off, I'll do whatever I can to help. Where is he?"  
  
Izzy opened his notebook and looked at the location he'd scribbled down.  
  
"Room 228, Marunouchi Building." He said.  
  
"Wow, he sure moved. Marunouchi Building is the last building on the South end of campus. It's as far out as you can get without going off-campus."  
  
"Why would he want to get so far away, though?"  
  
"Again, you weren't here last year Izzy. You didn't hear some of the last few fights those two had. Some bad things were said then, really bad. The kind of things you can't take back, no matter how much you apologize."  
  
"See, I know that's not right. I knew Matt long before you guys did. Something must be really wrong for stuff like that to have happened."  
  
"But wouldn't he have told Sora about anything that was bothering him?"  
  
"Matt has a tendency to clam up when it comes to his own feelings. It's the whole 'Lone Wolf' persona he's projected since we've known him."  
  
"Yup, that sounds like him all right."  
  
"Well, thanks for meeting me for lunch early. I've got a couple more classes today, and then I think I'll try and track him down." Izzy said, getting up from his seat.  
  
"Sure thing! Good luck, too!." Rei said, smiling and waving at him.  
  
"Thanks, I think I'll need it."  
  
As Izzy headed away, Rei sighed as she watched him walk away, going back to her lunch.  
  
"You sure are lucky, Sora." She said to herself with a laugh. "Guys just seem to go out of their way to help you. Here's to hoping you realize what a good guy Izzy is, and how good he'd be for you. And here's to hoping it's soon, or else I might just get to him first."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy finished getting his backpack in order after his last class and hitched it up onto his back for the long hike ahead of him to Marunouchi Building. He was just beginning his hike when he saw someone waving at him. He walked over in the person's direction a bit, only to see it was Kimiko, who was headed his way as well.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" he asked, approaching her.  
  
"Rei told me what you're up to, Izzy." She said, folding her arms. "I don't think this is such a good idea."  
  
"My mind is made up, Kimiko. I want to know what happened, for Sora and for my own curiosity."  
  
"Some things are better left well enough alone, Izzy. You don't want to make a bad situation worse, now do you?"  
  
"It can't get much worse."  
  
"You don't know how wrong you are..." she muttered to herself. Unfortunately for her, Izzy heard her.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Uh, nothing. Look, I gotta go."  
  
Saying so, she jogged off a bit. Izzy quickly followed her, knowing that something was up.  
  
"Kimiko, what do you know?" he asked insistently.  
  
"Nothing! Just go already!" she said, trying to shoo him off.  
  
"You know something about what's up with Matt, don't you?"  
  
"What if I do?"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
  
Kimiko grumbled in frustration as she spun to face Izzy, obviously upset.  
  
"I haven't even told Sora what I know, why would I tell you?"  
  
"I'm trying to help her, don't you want to do the same?"  
  
"Believe me, this is not helping."  
  
"I'll be the judge of that. Now tell me what you know."  
  
"Izzy..."  
  
"Tell me! I'm not leaving you alone until you do!" Izzy said, almost getting angry.  
  
"Okay! Okay! Sheesh, you can be pushy!" she said, looking around cautiously. "All I'm going to say is this: I'm a music major, okay? I see everyone that comes and goes from the music hall and practice areas. If Matt was spending so much time last year working on music, then how come I only saw him once a week at most over there?"  
  
"Maybe he was practicing on his own elsewhere?"  
  
"You're not allowed to practice instruments in dorms, it's too disruptive. And all the musicians on campus spend at least a couple of hours a week at the practice rooms. I would see Matt there for maybe a little while once a week, and some weeks not at all." Kimiko told him, turning away and beginning to walk off. "Figure out the rest yourself. I can guarantee you won't like what you discover."  
  
"Thanks Kimiko." He said to himself. "But it doesn't matter if I like it or not, I have to find out."  
  
Izzy turned back in the direction he was heading before and headed off again, now more determined than ever to discover the truth.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy hesitated as he stood in front of the door to what was apparently Matt's dorm room. Nervousness over what he might be about to find out crept over him, but he fought it off. This had to be done, or everyone would just keep wondering what happened.  
  
As he moved to knock on the door, he stopped again as he caught a scent in the air coming from behind to door. He couldn't place it, but it did sort of make him feel light-headed.  
  
'Maybe the air around here is just stale.' He thought. 'No, it isn't just the air. And it seems kind of hazy around here, too. Oh just get it over with, Izumi!'  
  
Izzy knocked several times on the door and waited, but there was no answer. He knocked again, only to have the door swing open quickly as he knocked. A male figure stood in the doorway, shirtless, dirty blond hair hanging down in his face.  
  
"WHAT?!" the young man yelled angrily. Izzy jumped back against the wall in a small panic at the outburst. He caught his breath, though, and peered at the young man for a moment.  
  
"Matt? Is that you?" he asked. The young man looked up slowly, squinting at him.  
  
"How do you know my name?" he asked. "Why are you?"  
  
"Matt...don't you recognize me? It hasn't been that long."  
  
Izzy slowly approached Matt, trying to meet his gaze. For a long moment, it seemed like Matt was just staring at him. It was when Izzy noticed Matt's hand trembling that he realized it wasn't a blank stare. He was panicking.  
  
Matt tried to step back and close his door quickly, but Izzy blocked him, managing to step into the room before he could close and lock the door on him. Matt cursed loudly at his failure.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Yamato." Izzy commented.  
  
"You shouldn't have come here, Izzy. Go away." Matt told him in monotone.  
  
"You had to know someone was going to come here sooner or later. You'd rather it had been Tai? Or worse..."  
  
"Don't even say her name around here!" Matt snapped at him.  
  
"Whatever. So what's the..."  
  
Izzy stopped mid-sentence as his eyes finally started scanning the room. It was utterly filthy. Clothes were hanging and piled up everywhere, trashcans were overflowing, and the floor was littered with bottles and what looked like cigarette butts. Izzy crouched down and carefully picked up one of the bottles. It was a beer bottle, empty for who knows how long.  
  
Izzy could hear Matt shifting around behind him, unable to tell if he was seething with anger or completely despondent at being found out. He then turned his attention to the cigarette butts, and then it dawned on him. He remembered the scent from earlier on when he saw that the "cigarette butts" were nothing of the sort, but used up marijuana joints. Izzy stood back up and slowly turned to face Matt, a look of utter shock on his face.  
  
"You've got some explaining to do, Ishida. And I suggest you make it good." He told him.  
  
"What's all the racket?" another voice said within the room. It was female, which surprised Izzy all the more. Matt quickly stepped past him to the bed.  
  
"Better put some clothes on, babe. We've got unexpected company." He said. The girl propped herself up a little and looked over at Izzy, who recognized her almost immediately.  
  
"Jun Motomiya?" he said.  
  
"Oh, hey there Izzy! Long time no see!" Jun said, smiling in her usual manner. She quickly grabbed an oversized nightshirt as Izzy turned away and pulled it on over her, sitting up against the wall. "You can turn around now, I'm decent."  
  
"No offense, Jun, but there's not much in this room that is decent." Izzy commented. "Like I said, Matt, I want explanations and I'm not leaving until I get them."  
  
"I was hoping to disappear forever." Matt said, sitting down on the floor against the bed. "I guess this is what I get for having such good friends. Well, where do you want me to start?"  
  
"How about starting with why you're living like this, and what's with the drugs and alcohol?"  
  
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to be a real, professional musician, Izzy?" Matt asked, looking up at him. "Before I came here I thought I had a real talent for it, and I could take it to the stars and back. Then when I came here I met people with just as much talent, if not more than me, and all of them were working ten times harder than me for the same goal. I tried to keep up for a while, but it just didn't work. The more I tried to practice, the more depressed I got.  
  
"I thought being a real musician and star would help me give Sora the life she deserved. Instead I could tell I was bound for anonymity. Then one day, a friend of mine here gave me something to help cheer me up."  
  
"That would be the dope, right?"  
  
"Yeah. And it made all the hurting go away, for a while at least. I gave up on music and just started hanging with my friend and his group, smoking up and just laughing everything away. They also hooked me up with beer whenever I wanted it too. It was great."  
  
"And you let Sora believe that you were just working on your music?"  
  
"So long as she didn't know what I was up to, what did it matter? I never wanted to hurt her, but then she started getting nosy about what I was doing. It made all the hurt come back, Izzy. Don't you see? She's the reason I started doing all this crap in the first place. She ruined me! She drove me to all of this!"  
  
"She never told you that music had to be your life! She would've been happy with you with whatever life you ended up with!"  
  
"I can't believe that for one second, Izzy. Anyway, we started fighting whenever we saw each other. Things got worse and worse, and I spent more and more time with my friends. About then is when I met up with Jun here again."  
  
"And so you started cheating on Sora."  
  
"The way I see it, we were headed for splitsville anyway. I might as well find myself someone else who'll accept me no matter what I turn out to be. Right, baby?"  
  
"Anything for you, Matt." Jun said with a complacent smile.  
  
"And so there you have it, Mr. Izumi." Matt said in a cocky tone. "Happy now? Or are you just going to come over here and pummel me into the ground like I know you want to?"  
  
"You only wish I were as hot tempered as Tai is, Matt." Izzy said, shaking his head. "No, I'm not letting you off that easily."  
  
"Ooo, I'm so scared." Matt said mockingly.  
  
"You will be when Sora finds out about all of this."  
  
Matt was quickly to his feet and got right up in Izzy's face, his eyes suddenly wild.  
  
"You wouldn't dare!"  
  
"Wouldn't I?" Izzy shot back, not backing down despite how intimidating Matt could be. "You can be so unbelievably selfish, Matt.I'm glad you found someone who'll cater to your every need and desire, by the way. Must be nice to be treated like a baby, considering that's all you've ever been."  
  
A sharp right cross from Matt sent Izzy reeling back into his dresser, his jaw throbbing with pain.  
  
"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Matt yelled at him. "You don't know my pain!"  
  
"To Hell with you and your so-called pain, Ishida!" Izzy shot right back. "You don't even know the meaning of the damn word!"  
  
Izzy glared daggers back at Matt, who seemed frozen in place at his last words. No one had ever seen Izzy truly get angry before, and to Matt at that time, it was scarier than any other time someone had been angry with him.  
  
"You want pain? Try living with daily torment from first grade from practically anyone you've ever met!" Izzy continued, not breaking his gaze from Matt's eyes. "Try being beaten to a pulp ever other day because you think different, act different, talk different, look different, or sometimes just because other kids couldn't cope with their own lives. Try being verbally assaulted by boys and girls alike, putting their anguish onto you just so they don't have to feel it. Try all of that, Matt. Try being a God damn emotional mule for people to toss all their unwanted feelings onto, and then you'll know pain! What you think is pain is a walk in the park compared to the sum total I've seen other people go through and experienced in my life, so don't you ever talk about hurting in front of me again!  
  
"Better yet, try loving someone. Try loving someone so completely that your own happiness depends on their happiness. Now watch as that person seems to just start running away from you for no good reason. You try to find out what's wrong, but they just get more distant. Then they start lashing out at you for doing something as simple as caring about them! All because they have some misconceived notion that they have to be the emperor of the whole world just to make you happy. And so you bicker, and then yell, and fight, and scream at each other until you never want to see each other again."  
  
Izzy's voice had lowered to almost a whisper as he stood inches away from Matt, who still looked terrified, but seemed to be listening to his every word.  
  
"Try all of that, Ishida. And then maybe you'll know what pain is. I guarantee you Sora does."  
  
"Izzy...I-I-I..."  
  
Izzy finally caught up with himself and took a deep breath, stepping back from Matt. Matt managed to come out of his daze as well, shaking his head as if eh were clearing out a few of the many cobwebs that had taken hold of his mind.  
  
"I'm sorry about that, Matt. I just...I want to do what's best for Sora." Izzy said apologetically. "Even if you two can't get back together, which sad to say I don't think you could at this point after all that's happened, she deserves some closure so she can get on with her life."  
  
"Even saying so, Izzy...I don't think I can face her." Matt said despondently. "I know you're right, and as a friend I should go to her and explain everything. But I.I don't think I even deserve to look at her after what I did to her."  
  
"Matt, stop right there." Izzy told him, getting him to look at him again. "It's about her, not you okay? So get over yourself and do what you know is right."  
  
Izzy hiked his backpack up on his back again and rubbed his still sore jaw a bit as he opened Matt's door again to leave.  
  
"It's Tuesday right now. I'll give you until Saturday at noon to clean yourself up and explain it all to Sora yourself. Otherwise, I'm telling her myself." Izzy told him. "I suggest you be clean and sober for it. Oh, and Jun? Sorry about all of this. But Sora deserves better."  
  
Jun seemed to ignore Izzy and shooed him away as she covered herself up again. Izzy gave Matt one last look and then left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Good. Now that he's gone maybe we can get back to having fun!" Jun said, getting up and hugging Matt from behind.  
  
"Let me go, Jun." Matt said quietly. "And for that matter, get dressed and leave. I need to be alone."  
  
"But Maaaaat..." she complained.  
  
"Go now before I throw you out like you are." He said, his voice seething. Jun backed away from him, scared at the anger in his voice. A few moments later she was dressed and gone, leaving Matt alone to ponder Izzy's words, and just what the right thing to do was.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy leaned into the baggie of ice he had in his left hand, moaning a bit as the throbbing continued.  
  
"Thanks for the ice, Sora." He said slowly. "It'll help at least with the swelling."  
  
"No problem. So how did it happen?" she asked as she sat down on Emi's bed.  
  
"I tried to break up a fight I saw near the cafeteria, and ended up accidentally getting punched by one of the guys. He didn't mean it, he was just flailing around as I tried to get between them."  
  
"Izzy the Peacemaker, eh? You've always been getting your nose in other people's business, whether it was here or in the Digital World." Sora said with a laugh.  
  
"I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment."  
  
"You going to be okay?"  
  
"I've had much worse before, trust me. It'll go away in a day or two."  
  
Sora just nodded in response and leaned back against the wall as Izzy continued to apply the ice to his face, glad that she seemed to buy his story.  
  
"You know, I think Rei has a bit of a crush on you." She said. Izzy looked up at her skeptically. "She's been asking me quite a bit about you lately, and she thinks you're cute to boot."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"She's always been attracted to the intellectual type, Izzy. She just has a bad track record of trying to pick one to date. Sora said, sitting back up. "One was more interested in his work than girls, one was already seeing someone else, and one ended up being gay!"  
  
"That would make for a bad record." Izzy said, chuckling a little.  
  
"So you should go for it! You two would be cute together!"  
  
"I don't think so Sora. Not now at least."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I have the social graces of a rock."  
  
"And that's never going to change unless you go out and try. You should at least give it a shot, Izzy. If it doesn't work out, you guys can still be friends."  
  
Izzy still seemed skeptical of the idea, or at least uncomfortable about it. Sora got up and moved over towards him, squatting down in front of him.  
  
"Sometimes you can't just sit around and wait for the right person to show up for you." She told him. "Sometimes you have to look for that person yourself. You've never even tried before, Izzy, because you've always been afraid of getting hurt. So do yourself a favor and give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose."  
  
"I'll...I'll think about it, okay Sora? But not any time very soon. Even if I do want to go out with someone, I want to wait until my left cheek isn't threatening to explode to do it you know?"  
  
"I guess I can appreciate that." Sora said, chuckling. "C'mon, let's go get dinner."  
  
"Food does sound good about now." Izzy said in agreement. Sora had to laugh as they headed for the cafeteria together, patting him on the back as they walked to the elevator.  
  
"At least you're a typical guy in one respect, Izzy."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Saturday came around, and Izzy hadn't seen anything of Matt at all for the remainder of the week. It was about 11:00 AM, and he was getting tired of waiting and wondering if Matt would indeed show up. He left his room and headed upstairs to Sora's room, knocking on the door when he got there. Sora greeted him a moment after he'd knocked.  
  
"Hey Izzy, what's up?" she asked.  
  
"Hey, are you alone right now?" he asked nervously.  
  
"Yeah, Emi went into town with Hiroshi for the day. What's on your mind?"  
  
"Um, well, I need to talk to you."  
  
"Or rather, I need to talk to you." Matt said, stepping up behind Izzy. Both Izzy and Sora looked over at him in amazement. He was cleaned up, shaven, and as far as Izzy could tell was as sharp as he'd ever been.  
  
"Yamato..." Sora said quietly.  
  
"It's been too long, Sora. We need to talk. About a lot of things." He said.  
  
"I'll just, uh, leave you two to yourselves for now then. We can talk later, Sora." Izzy said, backing away. He looked back at Matt before disappearing down the stairwell again, smiling at him. Matt smiled back at him, nodding at him as well.  
  
Izzy got back to his room and sat down in front of his computer, smiling to himself. No matter what the outcome was, or what was said, there would at least be some resolution to things between Sora and Matt. He decided to burn some time surfing the Internet, and hoping that Sora wouldn't be too cross with him later on.  
  
About an hour passed, and then Sora stepped into Izzy's open doorway, folding her arms as she looked in at him on his computer.  
  
"So you guys talked?" Izzy asked, looking over at her from his computer. She just nodded.  
  
"And I'm guessing he told you everything?" Again, she nodded.  
  
"And I'm also guessing you're pretty pissed off at me right now for going behind your back like that."  
  
"You got the pissed off part right, but not the reason." She finally said, stepping into his room.  
  
"I'm not sure I follow."  
  
"I know you did what you did for my sake, Izzy. And honestly, I feel tons better now that it's out of the way."  
  
"So why are you pissed off at me?"  
  
"Because you lied to me about how you got that bruise on your face." She said angrily, smacking the back of his head.  
  
"Ow! Well I don't think you would've reacted very well if I told you Matt punched me out, now would you?" Izzy said, rubbing his head.  
  
"No, I suppose not." Sora said. "Mind if I sit down?"  
  
"Go right ahead." Izzy said, turning his chair around. Sora sat on his bed, leaning forward a bit. "So how did it go?"  
  
"Okay, I guess. I was pretty shocked to find out what had been going on. He said he's going to try and clean up his act, but he's not going back to music. Nor are we getting back together."  
  
"I figured."  
  
"It's just too painful, remembering what we said to each other. We're at least friends again, but I couldn't be with him like we were before. He agreed with that much, too."  
  
"I'm glad to hear it, Sora."  
  
"Izzy...I don't know how to thank you. You didn't have to go through all of this. No one else ever did."  
  
"Sora, there's no way I could stand seeing you being so sad at the mention of someone who should be a friend. I much prefer the happy version of you."  
  
Sora had to smile at Izzy at his comment. Something about hearing those words from him made a small part of her feel very warm and comforted, knowing that someone thought so much of her.  
  
"Besides, we redheads have to stick together, right?" Izzy added with a laugh. He and Sora busted up laughing at that point for several minutes. After they regained their composure, Sora stood back up and moved back to his doorway.  
  
"Well, I think I'm gonna go to The Circuit Breaker for a while. I have to get my skills back up, or else I'll lose my high score to you!" she told him.  
  
"I might stop by later on, I've got a couple of things I want to do first." Izzy told her, standing up as well. Sora nodded, and then gave him a big hug that he returned in kind.  
  
"Thanks again, Izzy. You're the best." She told him.  
  
"I'm happy I could help you out, Sora. I'll see you later."  
  
Sora nodded and then headed off for the elevator, and her afternoon of fun. Izzy returned to his computer and finished up his homework for the weekend. He shut his system down and left his room, heading for the cafeteria for a late lunch. On his way, he spotted Rei walking towards the cafeteria as well. He took a deep breath and jogged to catch up with her.  
  
"Hi Rei!" he said energetically. "Getting a late lunch?"  
  
"Oh, hi Izzy. Yeah, I got caught up watching my soaps as usual and lost track of time." She told him, smiling back at him.  
  
"I always wondered what the attraction was of women to those shows. Want to fill me in over lunch?"  
  
"Sure! They're really kind of interesting once you start following them."  
  
"I was also kinda wondering...are you busy tonight?"  
  
"As usual, I've got a whole lot of nothing going on."  
  
"Think you'd like to go to dinner in town with me tonight? My treat, of course."  
  
"Izzy...I'd love to!"  
  
As the two headed in for lunch, they started talking about soap operas and ended up talking about themselves quite a bit, in an effort to get to know each other a little better. Izzy felt awkward doing it all, but he enjoyed it overall. After all, he was doing it on the advice of a good friend. 


	5. A Splash of Danger

A Splash of Danger  
  
'It's been a couple weeks or so since Yamato and I cleared everything up now, and I find myself slowly getting back to how things used to be.' Sora thought, writing the same in her diary. 'I see him every now and again on campus, but only to say hi and talk briefly. He seems to have taken to science, I guess. Physics. I never would have taken him for the science type. Still, at least it's better than what he was spending his time on before.  
  
'Kimiko has a recital next week, so she's spending all of her time rehearsing with her quartet. I swear that girl is a mental case. If there were any of us girls in need of a man, it's her.  
  
'And on that note, Rei's been dating Izzy for a couple weeks now too. They seem to really enjoy each other's company, although I get the feeling that Rei wants to move a little too fast for Izzy's tastes. Anyway, it's good to see him actually have someone now.  
  
'Although I can't help but feel just a little.jealous, I guess is what it is. It's not that I don't see any less of him. We still hang out, talk, have coffee at The Green Door, or mess around at The Circuit Breaker and all that. I'm probably just being silly is all.'  
  
Sora finished writing and locked her diary up again, stashing it in her dresser drawer. She then hopped back up onto her bed and tried to relax, though her diary entry preyed on her mind.  
  
'Why would I be jealous? Izzy's always been my friend before, nothing more or less. Maybe I'm just still rebounding from Matt. That's got to be it. I need to keep my cool. Besides, he and Rei really look good together.  
  
'And still...I can't help but wonder one thing. They look good together. How would...we look? Together?  
  
'Oh what's wrong with me?! The last thing I need right now is another relationship I could screw up! I need to chill the hell out.'  
  
The sound of the door opening and closing let Sora know that Emi had returned. She rolled over on her bed, letting her head hang down from her bunk.  
  
"Emi...I need to chill out." Sora said in a complaining tone.  
  
"That makes two of us." Emi replied, looking up at her upside down roommate. "Miniature golf, maybe?"  
  
"Too much skill involved."  
  
"Ping pong?"  
  
"Ugh, too strenuous."  
  
"Poker?"  
  
"Too repetitive."  
  
"I'm running out of ideas here, Sora."  
  
"How about block party on Friday night?" Kimiko said, poking her head into the doorway.  
  
"Huh?" both girls asked, looking back at her.  
  
"One of the fraternities is having a recruitment night block party Friday night. They're inviting practically the entire campus, and I know I want to cut loose before the recital comes along." Kimiko said.  
  
"I don't know. Frat parties can get kinda out of hand, can't they?" Sora asked.  
  
"Well, have any of us ever been to one?"  
  
Emi and Sora exchanged glances, shaking their heads at each other, and then looking back at Kimiko.  
  
"Well then, I think we owe it to ourselves to find out firsthand!"  
  
"Anything's worth a shot once." Emi said. "I'm sure Hiroshi will want to come along, too."  
  
"I guess I'm in." Sora added.  
  
"Great! Now we only have two more people to convince." Kimiko said.  
  
"Right." Sora said, knowing what Kimiko meant. "This will be interesting."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"So let me get this straight." Izzy said between bites of lunch. "You want us to come along to a party with more people than we'll ever be able to count, music loud enough to kill our ears, and who knows what else, and it's supposed to be fun?"  
  
"And as always, your knack for being able to bring out the worst in a situation never fails Izzy." Sora said. "We'll all be there. It'll be a blast!"  
  
"I've always been curious about the big party scene, just a little too timid to actually try and go." Rei added. "You know, all the horror stories and such."  
  
'And Rei's paranoia isn't helping much either.' Sora added in thought. 'I swear that girl should watch more than soap operas and court TV shows.'  
  
"Well, I'd be there." Izzy said, looking at Rei.  
  
"If you go, I'd go."  
  
"Well..."  
  
Izzy looked at both girls, who were now putting on their best "hopeful eyes" looks at him. It didn't take much longer for him to cave in.  
  
"I'll go! I'll go! Geez, any more cuteness and I'll get cavities!"  
  
"No one can resist us when we mean business!" Rei said triumphantly. She happened to look at the clock and gasped a bit. "Ack! I've got to be at the theater in ten minutes! Sorry Izzy, I gotta fly."  
  
"Okay, have a good class Rei."  
  
Rei smiled at him and kissed him quickly before grabbing her backpack and dashing out the cafeteria door, leaving Sora and Izzy at lunch.  
  
"Well well well, I never would've thought you the kind for PDA's, Izzy." Sora said teasingly.  
  
"PDA?"  
  
"Public Display of Affection."  
  
"Oh. Heh, well what can I say? It's not like I mind being kissed by girls. Far from it." Izzy said, blushing a bit and laughing nervously.  
  
"And here I'd begun to wonder about you."  
  
"Don't even joke like that."  
  
"Just kidding!" Sora said, stifling her own laughter. "So how are things with you two?"  
  
"Okay I guess." Izzy said with a sigh.  
  
"Hmm, that doesn't exactly sound convincing. What's up?"  
  
"Well.we've been out on actual dates maybe a couple of times, but she likes to spend a lot of her time just watching movies on video or TV shows. And I've never been much for TV, as you know."  
  
"That could be difficult. Rei's pretty fanatical about her shows, especially her soap operas."  
  
"Tell me about it. I think I know more than I ever cared to about daytime TV now."  
  
"That makes two of us." Sora said, remembering all the times Rei tried to explain to her what was going on in her favorite shows. It was enough to make anyone's head spin, even Izzy's. "Well, you two will be coming along to the party on Friday. That's something."  
  
"I still don't know about this, Sora. I mean, the small parties we have up with you and Emi and the others are fun and all, but this is going to be a whole lot of people. I'm not so good with large crowds."  
  
"We'll all be there, Izzy." Sora said, trying to sound reassuring even though she was also not completely keen on the idea of such a big party. "If it turns out to be a bust, we can just leave and go do something else."  
  
"I'll be fine, but thanks all the same Sora." Izzy managed to smile back at Sora, letting her know that it didn't bother him that much.  
  
As the two continued to chat over lunch, neither of them could've ever suspected that Friday night would be the point from which everything would begin to change.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
The entire group of Sora, Izzy, Rei, Emi, Hiroshi and Kimiko walked together to the house that the party would be at, all of them slightly uneasy about going to such a large event. Nonetheless, all of them were determined to have a good time regardless of the crowd.  
  
The fraternity houses were actually just off campus, and the one in question was actually the largest of them, belonging to the Kappa Tau Alpha fraternity. Hiroshi took it upon himself to fill everyone in on them.  
  
"In years past, they were kind of an out of control frat." He said to everyone. "They did some wild stuff, and caused some serious trouble at one point with their hazing. They were banned from campus until just a few years ago, and they haven't been in trouble yet. Odds are they're throwing this party to try and get back in the public eye, and maybe get some new blood while they're at it."  
  
"How do you know so much about them?" Kimiko asked him.  
  
"My father used to be a frat guy when he went here for college, and he never liked the Kappas. He said they were all about trouble and who else they could get in trouble while they were at it. So naturally, he doesn't know I'm going to this party, else he'd skin me alive next time he saw me."  
  
Hiroshi's commentary didn't do much for the group's morale, but they continued towards the party nonetheless. It wasn't much longer before they spotted the house. The party was in full swing, with people all over the place. The group made their way down to the house and did their best to quickly integrate themselves into the scene, joining in with the fun that was already being had.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy meandered about the main rooms and halls of the house, talking with people here and there, but genuinely finding it hard to have a good time. Rei had gotten caught up with the movie marathon going on in the basement, and he'd lost total track of the others as well. Eventually, he ended up grabbing a seat at the impromptu bar that had been set up. As he sat there, the bartender set a cup down in front of him and filled it up. Izzy saw immediately that it was beer and pushed it away from him.  
  
"Sorry, I'm underage." He said politely.  
  
"You kidding me?" the bartender said, looking at him strangely. "You got any idea how many other folks are drinking here that're underage? Trust me, you can have one man."  
  
"Uh, thanks but no anyways."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
"Hey, Ryuji!" one of the frat guys called out to the bartender, sounding half-drunk. He was a fairly big guy, with shoulder length black hair that looked fairly messy. "I need you to hook me up, man!"  
  
"Dude, you're wasted. No way."  
  
"Nah, not fer me. There's this hot chick that I wanna get a drink for." The drunk guy then leaned over the bar and tried to whisper to Ryuji, but still loud enough that Izzy overheard him. "One of your specials."  
  
"Right. Gotcha." Ryuji said. Izzy watched carefully out of the corner of his eye, as he saw Ryuji fill a cup with cola, and then he seemed to really quickly drop something into the cup. "And remember, take it upstairs man. That's where the others are." He handed it to the guy a moment later, who nodded in understanding. Ryuji then went back to his business.  
  
Izzy had heard stories about this sort of thing before, but he never thought it was for real. If he didn't have a reason for getting out of the party before, he certainly did now. He got up from his seat and began to make his way around, finally finding Hiroshi standing outside the bathroom.  
  
"Hey Izzy, just waiting for Emi to come out. She's not feeling too well. I think it was the pizza rolls." Hiroshi said, upon seeing Izzy.  
  
"Hiroshi, when Emi comes out go and find Kimiko and get out of here." Izzy told him quietly.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
Izzy quickly explained to Hiroshi what he'd seen and overheard downstairs. Hiroshi did his best not to curse out loud, but he was visibly upset.  
  
"I shoulda listened to dad. These guys are worse than ever if they're lacing girls' drinks with drugs!" he said back to Izzy quietly. "Meet us outside. We'll try to track down Sora too."  
  
Izzy nodded and started heading downstairs to get Rei and pry her away from the movies. He only hoped that they could get out before anything bad really happened.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Sora leaned against a wall for a bit of support. Suddenly she wasn't feeling very well at all. One guy hadn't stopped bugging her since she'd arrived at the party, and finally she consented to let him get her a soda, but now she felt woozy and wasn't seeing straight.  
  
"Hey, you okay?" the guy asked.  
  
"I don't know. I think I need to go." she said weakly.  
  
"Hey, we've got beds upstairs. You can chill out there until you feel better."  
  
"Maybe I should...I don't know if I can walk home at this point."  
  
She leaned on the guy as they headed upstairs, hoping that a quick lie down would help her clear her now very fuzzy head.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Rei and Izzy had to really push their way through the crowd to get out, and met up with Emi, Hiroshi and Kimiko outside, all of whom looked pretty upset over the whole matter.  
  
"We all set?" Rei asked, arriving. "I don't want to hang around here a second longer."  
  
"No kidding. So much for big parties." Emi added.  
  
"Where's Sora?" Izzy asked, looking around.  
  
"We couldn't find her anywhere." Hiroshi said.  
  
"I think I saw her talking to some guy earlier on, and then she was drinking a soda he brought her. She looked pretty annoyed." Kimiko noted. "Kind of a big guy, with dirty black hair."  
  
Kimiko's words shot through Izzy like wildfire.  
  
"That's the same guy..." he said, his voice a whisper. He looked at Hiroshi quickly. "Hiroshi, get the girls out of here. I'm going back in to get Sora. She's in trouble."  
  
"You don't think..." Hiroshi said, catching on.  
  
"No, I know. Get out of here now!"  
  
"But Izzy..." Rei started to say, trying to get him to just come along. She saw the look in his eyes, though, and knew he was beyond words. Izzy turned and ran back into the house as the group headed back for campus.  
  
Izzy forced his way through the crowds and vaulted up the stairs, checking the rooms one by one. He saw an open door and saw the guy leering over Sora, who was out cold on a bed. He began to reach up to undo her pants, and that was all Izzy needed.  
  
He flew into the room, shoulder tackling him away from the bed and into the wall. The guy was in a half-drunken stupor, and as he tried to turn and get his bearings Izzy connected with a left hook, sending the guy crumpling to the floor, unconscious. Izzy shook his hand out a bit, sore from the punch.  
  
'Dammit! That hurt! At least he's out cold.' Izzy thought as his hand throbbed. 'I'd better cover this up, so it doesn't look too bad.'  
  
Izzy grabbed the comforter from the foot of the bed and draped it over the guy, making it look like he'd just fallen asleep on the floor. It looked convincing enough for him. He then looked at Sora on the bed. She was totally out of it, and her blouse was open down the front, showing off her bra. Izzy felt his face flash red at the sight, but quickly shook it off.  
  
'Get a grip, Izumi! You've got to get her out of here somehow. Let's hope Sora's as light as she looks.'  
  
Izzy quickly buttoned her blouse up a bit and then picked her up carrying her with one of her arms draped over his shoulder, so things didn't look too suspicious. He managed to avoid confrontations or conversations on the way out, as a couple of people figured that he was helping out someone who was going to be sick. Once they were back out of the party, and a ways away from the house, Izzy picked her up in a Fireman's Carry and started the trek back to the dorms, hoping that the drugs in Sora's system would wear off soon.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Sora's eyes opened slowly, her head slightly aching. She recognized that she was in her room, on her bunk, but she could only wonder how she'd gotten there. She propped herself up a bit and looked down, seeing Emi and Hiroshi sitting and talking quietly.  
  
"Hey." She called down, brushing some of her hair out of her face.  
  
"How're you feeling?" Emi asked, looking up at her.  
  
"Okay I guess. What happened? I don't remember anything after I got that soda from that jerk at the party."  
  
"Sora...it was drugged." Hiroshi told her plainly.  
  
"Wh-what?" Sora said, suddenly filled with fear. 'Oh my God. Did he...'  
  
"It's true." Emi added. "He was going to try and.rape you."  
  
"But...but how did I get back here?"  
  
"Ask him when he wakes up." Hiroshi said, pointing to the door. Sora looked down at the door to see Izzy sitting against the door, slumped over and asleep. "He went back for you, Sora. I don't know how he managed it, but he got you out of there before the guy could do anything to you."  
  
"When he got back, we helped him get you up into bed. Then he closed and locked the door and said, 'I'm not leaving until I know she's okay. Besides, someone might try something again tonight, and I won't let that happen.' And he sat against the door, guarding us. Well, you at least." Emi said. "Hiroshi stayed as well, for my sake. I was kinda freaked out after it all, too."  
  
"Izzy..." Sora said quietly, looking at him. She slid down out of her bed carefully and quietly, pulling one of her blankets down with her. "He looks so uncomfortable..."  
  
She draped the blanket over him, carefully so as not to stir him too much, and then hopped back up into her bed, looking over at Emi and Hiroshi.  
  
"Thanks you guys." She said.  
  
"Any time, but save your thanks for Izzy, Sora." Hiroshi told her. "He really went nuts when he knew you were in trouble."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
Sora stretched out in bed, laying on her stomach and watching Izzy sleep. She stayed watching over him for a long while, until she drifted off to sleep again, feeling more secure than she ever had before.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
It was much later that day when Rei stopped by Izzy's room, finding him slumped partly over his keyboard, staring a bit blankly at his screen. She knocked on his door timidly, stepping into the room. Izzy looked up from his computer and did his best to straighten himself up, though he was still in the same clothes he'd worn to the party last night.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked groggily.  
  
"2 PM." Rei replied.  
  
"Damn. I'm sorry, Rei. I just didn't sleep too much, or too well last night..."  
  
"I know. And we need to talk about that, too." She said, approaching him. "Izzy, I don't think we're working out too well. As a couple, that is."  
  
"Rei...I can change things, if you want..."  
  
"No, Izzy. I don't want you to change a thing about yourself. I just realized it yesterday, though I've kinda seen it all along I guess."  
  
"Seen what?"  
  
"That I'm just not the one for you." She told him, forcing a smile on her face. "I couldn't be, not when I can tell there's someone else that you belong with."  
  
"Rei, what're you talking about? Who are you talking about, for that matter?" Izzy asked her totally mystified.  
  
"You'll figure it out sooner or later, Izzy. Not now, though. I don't think either of you is ready yet, and you're not thinking straight at the moment either."  
  
"I...I don't know what else to say." Izzy said, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Rei."  
  
"Don't be. We had fun together, and I still like you as a friend, Izzy." Rei said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But I know this is for the best in the long run."  
  
"I'll see you around, then?"  
  
"So long as you're not interrupting me in the middle of one of my shows, you bet."  
  
"Really, though, who're you talking about? Who's the one you think I belong with?"  
  
"Like I said, Izzy, you'll figure it out sooner or later. It could be anyone, after all. They might be right under your nose right now, and you wouldn't realize it." She said moving for the door. She stopped to look back at him one last time before she left, adding, "Or maybe not under your nose, but above it."  
  
Rei smiled at him again, and then headed off, leaving Izzy with even more to think about than he already had on his mind. 


	6. Interlude #1: The Next Day at The Green ...

Interlude #1: The Next Day at The Green Door  
  
Izzy sighed in satisfaction as he finished his last math homework problem, closing his notebook and textbook and stuffing them back into his backpack. He had gone down to The Green Door for a change of scenery to do his homework on that Sunday, and for coffee of course. He went to sip his cup again, only to find it empty. He headed back to the counter and got a refill and started back to his table, only to find Sora setting her things down in the chair opposite his at the table.  
  
"Glad to see you're up and about." He said, setting his cup down. "But how did you know I was sitting here?"  
  
"Because you're the only one on campus with a backpack that has a ladybug patch on it altered to look like Tentomon." Sora said, pointing to the makeshift patch his mother had sewn into it for him. Izzy had to laugh as Sora went to the counter, coming back with her own cup of coffee.  
  
"I never thought I'd end up liking this stuff so much." Izzy said, looking at his cup. "But, anything to be able to stay up until 3 AM programming."  
  
"I just like the taste." Sora said after sipping hers. "Though I only drink the flavored coffees. I never liked the plain stuff."  
  
"You're not a plain person, so I wouldn't expect any less."  
  
"I'll take your word for it."  
  
"There you go again with the self-deprecation."  
  
"Self what?"  
  
"You're putting yourself down." Izzy said, simplifying his words.  
  
"Oh." Sora said, shrugging.  
  
"Why do you think you're nothing special?"  
  
"Because I'm not." Sora stated plainly. "I'm not drop dead gorgeous like some of the girls on campus, I'm not as smart as half of the people here, and I'm not particularly good at anything either. After all, I...I don't know what I want to major in yet."  
  
"First off, all of those girls that you say are so much better looking than you are all clones of each other or some famous person that they think is in style." Izzy said, leaning on the table a bit. "You've never had to do anything like that to get someone's attention, Sora. Your very nature is attractive to people, just ask any of your friends, Digidestined or not. Besides which, you're a lot prettier than you give yourself credit for."  
  
'Okay, that last part came out of nowhere.' Sora thought as she listened to Izzy. 'I hope this isn't going where I think it is...' Izzy continued talking, though.  
  
"Secondly, and I speak from experience here, all those people that you say are smarter than you are nothing but bookworms whose idea of a social life is playing multiplayer online video games. Trust me, you're way ahead of the game from where they are."  
  
'So now who's guilty of putting themselves down?' Sora thought, smirking at him a little. 'You're nowhere as bad as some of the hardcore geeks I've seen wandering this campus Izzy. At the very least, you have better hygiene. Not to mention much better looking...and now I'm doing it! What the hell?!'  
  
"As for not knowing what you want to be yet, well not everyone has such a clear idea when they get to college. Don't get too discouraged just because you haven't made up your mind yet, and don't think you have to be in a rush to pick something. Do something you have a passion for." Izzy said, finishing his speech.  
  
"Thanks for the pep talk, Izzy." Sora said, smiling now after taking in all of Izzy's speech.  
  
"Hope I wasn't being too preachy." Izzy said, sipping his coffee again.  
  
"Oh no, but I still wonder when you turned into Mr. Smooth. A girl could be rather flattered by your first set of comments there."  
  
"Unless it's Rei we're talking about."  
  
"I head from Kimiko." Sora said, sitting back with her cup. "Sorry it didn't work out."  
  
"That's okay. At least we're still good friends, and I don't have to watch soap operas anymore."  
  
"I'd say that's two bonuses right there."  
  
"Even so, I feel a little lonely again now. I mean, I enjoyed having someone special there for me. At least now I know what I was missing out on in high school."  
  
"I speak from experience when I say that love doesn't happen overnight, Izzy. But until you do find that special someone, remember that you've got a long list of friends who care about you a lot."  
  
"I know that very well, Sora." Izzy replied, smiling again. "Heck, you probably top the list for that matter."  
  
"Thank you Izzy, and the same goes for me too." Sora said, finishing her coffee. She set her mug aside and folded her hands on the table, her demeanor turning a bit more serious. "Izzy...I never had a chance to thank you for the other night."  
  
"What's to thank, Sora?" Izzy asked, setting his own cup aside. "I did what I knew I had to do. I couldn't let you get hurt."  
  
"But that makes twice now you've stuck your neck out for me. First you did it with Matt when you wanted to help us resolve everything, and now you rescue me from...well...from something that could've ruined my life." Sora lifted her head, looking Izzy squarely in the eyes. "You're a real hero to me, you know?"  
  
"If you say so, Sora. You're welcome, though." Izzy said, not looking away from her. "I'd do it all again anytime."  
  
Sora and Izzy sat at their table in silence for a moment, just looking at each other as they confided to themselves in thought.  
  
'I really would do it all again, Sora. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt or sad. Not when I know you deserve to be happy.' Izzy thought. 'Is this how I really feel about her? Even if it is, she's never been anything more than a friend to me. I doubt I could make her truly happy anyway. Just friends is more than good enough for me, I guess.'  
  
'My brain is screaming at me that we're both rebounding now from relationships, that's why we're having this moment.' Sora thought. 'And I'd believe it were it not for this part of my heart that really, deeply cares about Izzy. I always had a bit of a soft spot for him when we were growing up, and he's always been able to make me laugh. But still, I know I'd only end up hurting him, and he's been hurt more than enough for one lifetime.'  
  
"Well, I'm sure you've got places to be." Izzy said, shaking off his trance and grabbing his bag.  
  
"Actually, I don't." Sora said, doing likewise. "I went to the bathroom earlier on, and by the time I got back to the room Emi had sexiled me again."  
  
"Like jackrabbits, those two are."  
  
"Don't get me started. So what're you up to for the rest of the day?"  
  
"My usual overwhelming load of nothing." Izzy joked. "Yup, just so much nothing in my schedule that I can't fit anything else in."  
  
"Wanna shoot some pool?" Sora asked, smirking at him.  
  
"I could definitely go for that."  
  
"My treat this time, though." Sora told him as she held the door open for him. "For my hero, Izzy!"  
  
"I'm honored, but next time it's my treat okay?" Izzy said, after snickering a bit. Sora just playfully pushed him out of the doorway, running past him. The chase was on as they both sprinted for The Circuit Breaker, leaving what happened over the weekend where it belonged: in the past. 


	7. A Dusting of Shadow

A Dusting of Shadow  
  
Rain was falling in sheets over the entire city, accompanied by winds that were making the trees and street signs sway and bend. The sky flashed frequently as lightning streaked from cloud to cloud, their appearance heralding deafening cracks of thunder that echoed throughout the campus. Through the chaos of the storm, three figures ran along towards their dormitory, splashing through puddles as they tried to get out of the storm before getting any more drenched than they already were.  
  
Finally reaching their destination, the three tried to shake off some of the rainwater by opening jackets or pulling off their ponchos.  
  
"This has to be the worst storm I've seen in a long time." Hiroshi said, trying to shake the water out of his poncho in the doorway.  
  
"No argument here. It hasn't let up at all since noon!" Izzy added, wiping his brow with his forearm as he shed his coat.  
  
"I just can't believe that it's only 2:30 and it's almost pitch black out there." Kimiko said, staring outside as she tried to wring out her overlong hair a bit. "God, I hate storms! No matter how much I cover up my hair ends up soaked!"  
  
"So get a haircut already, girl! I still don't know how you manage with all of it." Hiroshi told her.  
  
"I'll have you know that I haven't had my hair cut back for several years now, and I'm not about to ruin all that work. Besides, I'm up to number 3 now. I have to keep at it if I want to be number one." Kimiko replied, an air of haughtiness about her.  
  
"Number 3? In what?" Izzy asked.  
  
"She has the third longest hair of any girl on campus." Hiroshi told him. "It's some kind of weird status thing on campus here. There's two girls ahead of her, and one is some senior chick whose hair comes down past her knees!"  
  
"That's rather...impractical, isn't it?" Izzy asked him as he looked at Kimiko who was still trying to to dry her hair out. He added in thought, 'Then again, Kimiko hasn't ever struck me as being the most practical of people. Or rational.'  
  
"Well anyway, let's go on up and get dried off." Hiroshi suggested. Izzy and Kimiko nodded and followed him to the staircase.  
  
"Hey, why are we walking up?" Kimiko asked before they got to the stairs. "The elevator works just fine."  
  
"Don't you only live on the second floor anyway?" Izzy asked.  
  
"I hate unnecessary strenuous activity almost as much as I hate storms." Kimiko told him. Izzy just smiled to himself, shaking his head.  
  
"Right. Well, if you want to take the chance of the power going out and being stuck in a completely dark elevator, be my guest."  
  
"Hmm, you have a point. I'll climb, then."  
  
Izzy looked at Hiroshi, rolling his eyes as he let Kimiko step past him. Hiroshi just nodded to him, agreeing with his sentiment. After seeing Kimiko to her floor, both guys continued up to the third floor to their respective rooms. Izzy closed his door behind him and shed his soaked clothing, grabbing his bath towel and drying off. He got re-dressed in a faded green t-shirt and a pair of dark blue sweatpants and opened his door again. He quickly sat at his computer and set to shutting it down, not wanting to take a chance with the storm raging as it was.  
  
'There's not much work I can get done while I have my computer down.' He thought, looking around the room a bit. 'Guess I'll go up and check in with the girls.'  
  
As Izzy entered the stairwell, he looked out of the large picture window there and saw that the storm seemed to have picked up even more since he'd gotten in. Tree branches were flailing in the wind and slapping against the window as even more thunder echoed through the sky. Izzy decided not to linger much more and finished getting up the stairs and to Sora and Emi's room. The door was open, and Izzy looked in to see Emi sitting on her bed, reading a book.  
  
"You guys accepting visitors?" he asked, poking his head in.  
  
"As always! Come on in, Izzy." Emi said brightly. "Sora's in the shower right now, but she should be back soon."  
  
"Aha. Maybe I should make myself scarce for a bit then." Izzy said, trying not to let his face redden too much. "I'll go hang with Hiroshi on the other side of the hall then."  
  
No sooner did he turn to head over than there was a tremendous clap of thunder and every light in the building went out. Izzy looked up and down the hallway, only to see that it was completely black in both directions.  
  
"Or maybe I'll just stay here and not stumble around and get lost in the dark." He decided, stepping carefully into the room.  
  
"Wise choice." Emi said with a giggle. "You can sit below the window there, you'll be out of the way."  
  
"Thanks. So what were you reading?" Izzy asked as he found the window and sat down, leaning up against the wall.  
  
"The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, in English of course. It's quite possibly the most boring and depressing book I've ever read."  
  
"Never read it. I have read 1984 by George Orwell, though. Interesting book."  
  
"So you know English?" Emi asked hopefully. She was always eager to find someone else with some level of foreign language skill.  
  
"Well enough that I can find the bathroom, order a meal from McDonald's and not totally embarrass myself in front of people." Izzy said, scratching his head a bit. Emi had to laugh at his commentary.  
  
"Congratulations, then. You're leagues ahead of most Japanese people. Hiroshi and I could help you sometime if you like."  
  
"That might be interesting. I'll remember your offer, thanks Emi."  
  
"Emi? Do we have a visitor?" both of them heard Sora say from just outside the door.  
  
"It's just Izzy, Sora." Emi said, smiling to herself as she imagined the look on Izzy's face. 'Hmm, this is about to get interesting.' She added in thought, her mind already into its devious mode.  
  
"Hmm...how're we going to do this?" she wondered out loud, trying to sound innocent.  
  
"Good question. All I have on is a towel." Sora said, already a hint of annoyance in her voice.  
  
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Izzy said, looking over in Emi's direction.  
  
"Perish the thought!" Emi said, chuckling at the situation. "Look, just cover your eyes until she's decent Izzy. Besides, it's dark enough in here that you probably couldn't see anything anyway."  
  
"I guess you have a point." Izzy said, covering and closing his eyes. "Okay, you can come in Sora. I'm not looking, I swear."  
  
'Much as I wouldn't mind...' he added in thought to himself. He mentally smacked himself immediately afterwards for being a pervert.  
  
Sora quickly stepped inside the room, closing and locking the door behind her. She looked over in Emi's general direction, not amused by her little prank on Izzy.  
  
"Your mind is perpetually in the gutter, isn't it Emi?" she asked as she shed her towel and quickly rifled through her dresser for some clothes.  
  
"Hey, don't blame me completely. The timing for all of this was impeccable." Emi replied.  
  
'Ever the opportunist.' Sora complained in her mind. 'Sometimes I wonder how Hiroshi keeps up with her, let alone how he puts up with her. He doesn't live with the crazy girl, after all!'  
  
Sora shook her head as she put on a pair of underwear and her oversized sleep shirt that came down to her knees. She sat down on the floor against the bed frame.  
  
"You can look now, Izzy. I'm decent." She said, still bitter at Emi.  
  
"Sorry, Sora." Izzy said, uncovering and opening his eyes. He actually found that now he could see a little bit better and what little light was in the room helped him make out the shadows of where Sora and Emi were.  
  
"It's not your fault, so don't worry. But now what? There's not a whole lot we can do until the power comes back on."  
  
"Do you guys have any flashlights?" Izzy asked, trying to look around a little.  
  
"The batteries in it are dead, and I haven't been able to get replacements yet." Emi said as she lay back on her bed.  
  
"I'd get mine, but I'd probably kill myself walking up and down the stairs."  
  
"I could go with you to get it, Izzy." Sora said. "So long as my roommate promises not to shut me out of our room while I'm gone again."  
  
"You're still stewing about that?" Emi asked.  
  
"It wouldn't hurt for you guys to use his room once in a while, you know."  
  
"You've obviously never seen Hiroshi's room." Emi made a sound of disgust thinking about the state of his room. "Go and get the flashlight guys. I promise you won't be locked out when you get back."  
  
Izzy and Sora got up and carefully made their way out into the hall and to the stairwell. It was somewhat lighter, but still dark enough to make the trip between floors treacherous. As Izzy hesitated to step down onto the first step, he suddenly felt Sora's hand take hold of his.  
  
"Don't worry, I've got you." She told him.  
  
"R-right. Okay, then." He said, starting down the stairs slowly. "Heh, kinda reminds me of when I was learning to swim when we were kids. Remember? You helped me learn how to float."  
  
"I do remember that!" Sora said, recalling the fond memory. "I helped hold you up on the water and kept telling you to relax."  
  
"And I still sank like a rock."  
  
Sora laughed a bit at the memory as they reached the first landing. There was another roll of thunder, and Izzy felt his hand being squeezed a little.  
  
"You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, just...thunder and I don't mix very well." Sora said. "An old phobia of mine."  
  
"I never knew. We can head back if you'd like."  
  
"No, we should keep going and get your flashlight. Let's just get this over with."  
  
Izzy nodded and they continued down the last flight of steps, finally reaching Izzy's floor. After a quick dash into his room and a search, he found the flashlight and flipped it on. He brought the beam up so he could see Sora, and likewise so she could see him.  
  
"It's not much, but it'll do in a pinch." He said.  
  
"Right. Let's get back upstairs." Sora said, sounding eager to get back to the safety or her room.  
  
'She really sounds freaked out. We'd better make this quick, then.' Izzy thought as he stepped back into the hall.  
  
Izzy locked his room up again and they started going back upstairs, this time much quicker thanks to the light from the flashlight. When they reached the first landing, a clap of thunder sounded like it struck right over their heads and the tree's branches outside slapped violently against the window. Sora panicked and screamed a bit, grabbing onto Izzy from behind tightly. Izzy turned the flashlight off and let it drop to the floor as he managed to turn around in Sora's arms. She was trembling terribly as she held onto him. Not knowing what else to do, he put one arm around her and stroked her hair gently with the other, trying to calm her down.  
  
"Don't worry, I've got you." He said softly, repeating Sora's own words from earlier on. Sora just nodded as she hugged him a little more tightly. "What caused all this, Sora? You never told any of us before that you had this fear."  
  
"I-it was a long time ago, before I even knew you or Tai. One time when I was really little, I was out playing in a bad rainstorm." She started to say, her voice quivering. "I jumped in puddles and ran around having fun. Then lightning struck a tree near me, sending it up in flames. It scared me so badly.I ran home, crying all the way. I've been this way about storms ever since."  
  
The logical side of Izzy's brain instantly came up with a dozen different explanations he could give Sora to try and help her get rid of her fear of storms. But at that moment, he somehow knew what she really needed to hear instead.  
  
"The storm won't last, Sora, but if you want I'll stay with you until it ends if you like." He told her. "It's always easier to get through something with someone else around, I know that from all the times you and the others were there for me, when I was being teased, or picked on."  
  
"I know. And as for your offer...I wouldn't mind in the least." She said, starting to calm down a bit.  
  
"Okay, then. We should probably get back to your room, then."  
  
"Izzy?" Sora said, still holding onto him. "Could we just...stay like this for a little bit?"  
  
"I...I-I don't mind, I guess..." Izzy said, staying with her. Sora nodded again and closer her eyes as she stayed in his arms.  
  
"It's been a long time since anyone just held me. I'd forgotten how nice it could be." She said absently.  
  
"Yeah...this is pretty nice." Izzy said, finding it hard to disagree with her.  
  
'He feels so nice and warm. I never felt like this when Matt held me. He was usually just trying to kiss me or something else, he was never much for snuggling or stuff like that.' Sora thought to herself.  
  
'Here I always thought of her as a really tough person, but she feels so soft.she smells like wildflowers, too. It must be her shampoo or something. Whatever it is, it's nice.' Izzy thought to himself.  
  
'Can I possibly be thinking like this about him/her?' both thought about the other.  
  
"Um...we should probably get back before Emi changes her mind." Izzy finally said after a couple of minutes.  
  
"You're right. Let's keep going." Sora said, finally letting go of him slowly. As Izzy picked up his flashlight, he felt Sora take hold of his hand again. He almost said something about it, but just squeezed her hand gently, understanding that she didn't want to completely let go just yet. He flicked the flashlight back on and led the way back to her room. The storm, it seemed, was intent on raging for quite some time, and so he figured it would be a while before she would let him go. For his part, he had no intent of leaving her either.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"Truth or Dare, Emi?" Sora asked as the game went on. Seeing as how there was nothing better to do, the three decided to play the game, albeit keeping everything innocent enough.  
  
"Truth." Emi said, waiting for Sora's question.  
  
"What's your least favorite food?"  
  
"Easy one. Peas. I can't stand them at all." Emi shook her head, making a "blech" sound as she did. "Your turn, Izzy! Truth or Dare?"  
  
"I'll stick with Truth." Izzy replied.  
  
"No surprises there. Hmm...same question as Sora's."  
  
"Tomatoes. There's just something wrong about them in my mind." Izzy shuddered similarly to how Emi had. "So what say you, Sora?"  
  
"I say we reverse the order, I need a bathroom break so ask Emi."  
  
"Okay, but take the flashlight."  
  
Sora nodded, grabbing the light as she headed out. Izzy looked up at Emi, who was on her bed still.  
  
"Truth or Dare, Emi?"  
  
"Oh, Truth again I suppose."  
  
"What country would you want to go visit if you had the money?"  
  
"Another easy one. America. I'd love to see America sometime."  
  
"Sora and I have a couple friends in America. It's been a long time since we heard from them, though."  
  
"Sorry to hear it. You turn, again. Let me guess, Truth?"  
  
"You've got it. Whatcha want to know?"  
  
"Hmm." Emi thought carefully. If ever she had a chance to get it out of Izzy, now was the time. "Okay then. How do you really feel about Sora?"  
  
"Emi, we promised no personals." Izzy said, not amused in the least.  
  
"Come on, Izzy! She's not here, and I swear I won't say anything!" Emi pleaded.  
  
"Emi...look, even if I do care for her like you think I do...we've only ever been friends. Besides, I could never make her happy."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure, Izzy. I've seen how you look at her sometimes, and I've seen the same when she looks at you from time to time also. There's something between you two. You're both just way too afraid of hurting someone or being hurt to say or do anything about it."  
  
"Maybe you're right, maybe not. I'm not saying anything."  
  
"I understand, Izzy. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me. For now."  
  
"Emi!!!"  
  
"Okay, I'm back! Am I up yet?" Sora asked, coming back in and locking the door again.  
  
"Yup. Truth or Dare?" Emi asked.  
  
"Hey wait a sec!" Izzy protested. 'She did it to me again!' he added in thought. 'This girl is more crafty than anyone I've ever known!'  
  
"Hmm...Dare!" Sora said.  
  
"Dare, huh? Join me in a tickle attack on Izzy!" Emi announced.  
  
"You're on!" Sora said, grinning madly.  
  
"Wait a...gwah!!"  
  
Both girls suddenly pounced on Izzy, seeking out ticklish spots on him, making him writhe on the floor. Izzy didn't take it for long, as he tried to retaliate against both of them. As the ticklefest dragged on, Izzy's retaliation focused more and more on Sora as Emi slowly backed out of the picture. Finally, she managed to sneak out of the room, closing the door as Izzy and Sora continued to tickle each other. Finally, Sora pinned him to the floor and found a spot on his side that she assailed without end.  
  
"Aaaa! Enough! I give! I give!" Izzy announced in defeat.  
  
"Yes! I win!" Sora said triumphantly. The two of them laughed heartily at the whole mess they'd just been through, and then Sora collapsed onto his chest, a little out of breath.  
  
"You okay?" Izzy asked.  
  
"Yeah, just catching my breath is all." Sora said, pulling herself back up. She suddenly found her face to be mere inches from Izzy's, and she was half lying on top of him on the floor. Both of them blushed furiously.  
  
"Um...this is...uh..." Izzy said, trying to get a handle on the moment. Just then, another tremendous crack of thunder struck, accompanied by lots of flashing outside. Sora startled and latched on tightly to Izzy, her phobia taking over again. As Izzy tried to calm her down again, he felt something warm and wet touch his shoulder through his shirt.  
  
'Is she...crying?' he wondered to himself.  
  
"Sora? Are you okay?" he asked softly.  
  
"It feels like it'll never stop..." she said between sobs, her voice quivering uncontrollably again.  
  
"The storm will go away eventually, Sora. Don't worry about..."  
  
"Not the storm. The pain. In my heart..." she said, burying her face in his chest. "Why am I so alone? I can't stand being alone! But anyone I ever care about I end up hurting...it's just not fair..."  
  
"Sora, I..." Izzy fumbled for words as she continued to cry into his chest. If there was ever a time he needed to say even some of what was in his heart, it was now. "I don't know anything about love, or relationships, or dating or any of that stuff, Sora. For a long time I figured all I did know about was computers and stuff like that. But there is something else I know about, that you taught me, and that's caring. And I do care about you, Sora. So long as I live I promise you, you won't ever have to face anything alone. You've been there for me countless other times, so I'll do the same for you. Not out of obligation, or to repay you or anything like that...but because I honestly and truly care about you, Sora. Please believe me."  
  
"Izzy, I...I do believe you." Sora said, her voice a little raspy. She picked her head off off of his chest and looked at him for what she could in the darkness that enveloped them. "You don't know what those words mean to me right now."  
  
"Sora, I'd..."  
  
Sora shushed him as she placed one hand on his chest, shifting a little bit so she was a bit more comfortable.  
  
"It's my turn now, Izzy, and I...I need to get something off my mind." She said, looking into his eyes. "Will you listen to me for a moment?"  
  
"Sure, what is it?" he asked, not moving as he looked back up at her.  
  
"It's just that...well..."  
  
Sora then closed her eyes and closed the distance between them, kissing him on the lips gently. Izzy felt his heart leap, and after a few moments began kissing her back, closing his eyes as well. The two kissed intermittently for a long time, sometimes just holding each other for a while there on the floor. Neither of them got too daring, but there was a sense between them of need for this to happen as a result of their intensified feelings towards each other. Quite some time later, they sat back up, facing each other.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Sora asked, bringing her arms up to hug herself. "I mean...where do we go from here?"  
  
"Does anything really have to change?" Izzy asked.  
  
"Izzy, we just spent the last half hour kissing on the floor. That kind of changes things."  
  
"Do you like me any less than you did a half hour ago?"  
  
"Of course not!"  
  
"Well the same goes here, so does anything really have to change?"  
  
"Izzy, it's just that I...I don't know if I'm ready to do all of this again is all." Sora looked away from him a little, trying to fight back her tears again.  
  
"So take your time. I don't mind, Sora. Really. I'm in no hurry." Izzy put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently so as to reassure her.  
  
"You're too sweet, Izzy." Sora said, touching his face gently. "I do care about you, very much. In a way I guess I always have."  
  
"I know you do. You wouldn't have spent the past half hour kissing me if you didn't." Izzy said, smiling back at her. "And I care for you too, just as much. But let's take things as they come. Again, I'm in no hurry. Are you?"  
  
"Not at all. You know, though? It's amazing." She said, looking back at him, a small smile on her face once again.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"You. You're so different from Taichi or Yamato, the only other two guys I thought I had such strong feelings for.but it's a good kind of different. I like it."  
  
"Thanks, I think..."  
  
Sora smiled brightly at Izzy, and then started laughing at how silly she had been acting before she had kissed him. Izzy was a bit mystified by her behavior; but just seeing Sora happy was all he needed at the moment. Sora then scooted over next to Izzy, leaning against him a little.  
  
"I think we could have a lot of fun together, you know?" she said, watching the storm continue outside the window.  
  
"We always have before." Izzy told her, tentatively putting his arm around her. Sora snuggled closer to him, turning his head to face her.  
  
"Yeah, but even more now. Especially since I don't mind doing things like this for fun."  
  
Sora leaned over and kissed him again, happy to see he was eager to kiss her back again. They were so caught up in each other, they never noticed the door slightly opening and Emi looking in, smiling to see them together. She carefully closed the door again, letting them be alone.  
  
As the two continued to kiss, they both noticed that the room became a lot brighter. They broke off their kissing to notice that the power was back on.  
  
"Well, that's kind of disappointing." Izzy said, looking around.  
  
"I never thought I'd hear you be sad to have the electricity come back on." Sora said, smirking at him.  
  
"There's a first time for everything." He said with a wink. "We should probably open the door back up so Emi can get back into the room."  
  
"Hold on there." Sora said, pulling Izzy back to the floor as he tried to get up. "She's kept me out of my room more than once. It's her turn to wait for a little while."  
  
"Um...if you say so." Izzy said, a bit nervously. Sora chuckled a bit at him.  
  
"Don't worry, Izzy, I don't think either of us is ready for that yet. But that's not to say we can't just enjoy being together, right?"  
  
"I think you're catching on to what I meant earlier."  
  
"Yeah, except that one thing is different from before to now."  
  
"I'm guessing it has to do with us kissing?" Sora smiled and ruffled his hair a bit.  
  
"You really are smart." She told him, a smile on her face.  
  
Sora and Izzy relaxed there on the floor, eventually grabbing a blanket and a couple of pillows to make things a bit more comfortable. Both of them knew their relationship was going to be an interesting one, but wherever it went, at least they knew it would be a fun ride along the way. 


	8. Interlude #2: Whatever Tomorrow Brings

Interlude #2: Whatever Tomorrow Brings  
  
(A/N: Title comes from the title of a song by the group Incubus. Consider it the theme song for this interlude. If you have it, I suggest listening to it after you read this part, or even while you're reading. It.)  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"You're sure you're okay about this?" Sora asked as she walked back towards the dorms after class.  
  
"Sora, I gave up on Izzy a while back." Rei told her for what was about the seventh time. "I'm cool with it, really I am."  
  
"I just didn't want it to seem like I was just waiting for you guys to..."  
  
"Okay stop right there." Rei told her, cutting her off in mid-sentence. "We may not have been friends as long as you and Izzy have been, Sora, but I know you well enough to know you'd never intentionally do something like that that might hurt someone like that."  
  
Sora just smiled and hugged the short, black-haired girl in thanks for the support. Izzy had been right when he'd told her that she did have good friends, both normal and Digidestined. She, like many people, sometimes took friendship for granted. After the other night with Izzy, though, that had all changed.  
  
"Well, I'm starved. Wanna hit the cafeteria for dinner?" Sora asked.  
  
"Sora, don't you remember?" Rei replied, looking at her quizzically.  
  
"Remember what?"  
  
"Honestly, girl, you should check your e-mail more often." Rei said, sighing. "There was a bulletin that went out this morning. The cafeteria is shut down temporarily."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Apparently some guy who works in the cafeteria came down with a bad bug, and a whole mess of other people came down with the same thing as well. They shut the place down and are disinfecting it as we speak."  
  
"Yikes! So what're we supposed to do for food?"  
  
"I've got plenty of popcorn, crackers and cheese to tide me over. You're more than welcome to join me."  
  
"Would I have to watch TV as well?"  
  
"Well of course!"  
  
"Then I'll pass." Sora said, shaking her head. "Besides, I need something more than crackers and cheese for dinner. I think I'll go check out the convenience store in town and see what I can find."  
  
"Suit yourself! But my offer stands if you need something to fall back on." Rei said as she ran on ahead of Sora. Sora waved to her as she ran off and then turned towards the convenience store, groaning inwardly.  
  
'Damn it, I hate instant food!' she thought. 'The cafeteria isn't great, but it's at least regular, prepared food. Well, no sense griping over it unnecessarily.'  
  
Sora cut across the campus, traveling off the main pathways as she headed for the store. She was heading down a large hill and was about halfway there when she heard someone running up behind her. She stopped and turned around to see Izzy running down the hill towards her.  
  
"Whoa! Look out! I can't..." he yelled out. Sora tried to catch him but Izzy's weight combined with the speed he was coming down the hill was too much and bowled her right over along with him. Sora pushed herself up enough to look up at him, half-amused and half-annoyed.  
  
"I'd almost think you did that on purpose if I didn't know better." She told him.  
  
"I had been trying to catch up to you for a couple minutes! I completely forgot the hill was there!" Izzy said defensively. He quickly changed tone, becoming very apologetic. "I'm sorry, Sora. I really didn't mean to. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'll be fine. Grass stains come out in the wash." Sora said as she stood back up, brushing herself off. Izzy stood up as well, an obvious look of dismay on his face. Sora bumped him playfully, trying to get his spirits back up. "Don't sweat it, Izzy. I'm fine, really."  
  
"Well, I've got to make it up to you still." He said. "What're you doing for dinner?"  
  
"Convenience store instant food seems to be on the menu since the cafeteria is out of commission."  
  
"That won't do. Let's go into town and have dinner. My treat."  
  
"Just the two of us?"  
  
"Sure! Why not?"  
  
"You know what, you're right. Let's go. Besides, it beats instant ramen any time. But nothing too expensive or fancy! I don't want you getting extravagant on me." Sora told him as they started to walk back towards the dorms again.  
  
"No need to worry there. I have some money, but it's not like I'm loaded or anything like that." Izzy told her. "So where would you like to go?"  
  
"Hmm...I haven't had Italian food in ages. There's a really nice restaurant a little ways off campus."  
  
"Italian it is, then. Though I think we could both use a change of clothes before going out again."  
  
"Agreed." Sora said. She then moved closer to him as they walked along. "You know, this will actually be our first date."  
  
"Heh, yeah. I guess it is. Is that okay with you?" Izzy asked, a bit of nervousness in his voice.  
  
"Izzy, right now there's no one else I'd rather spend my time with."  
  
"The feeling is mutual, Sora."  
  
Sora smiled at him softly, and saw he smiled a little back at her. As they continued to walk Sora eventually reached over a little, taking his hand in hers. She was pleasantly surprised to feel him squeeze her hand a little, and she also noticed they were both blushing a little.  
  
'Geez, we're both acting like high school kids about this!' she thought. 'I mean, this isn't the first date either of us...'  
  
'...has ever been on!' Izzy thought. His own thoughts were running parallel with Sora's. 'So why does this feel so much different? Maybe it's because...'  
  
'...we've just been friends for so long before this. It does feel a little funny, but good at the same time. And there's also the fact that...'  
  
'...I do care about her more than just as a friend. I know she's not ready to hear that yet, but it's the truth.'  
  
'Our first date...I think we're going to have some real fun tonight.' They both thought. They would continue on just like that, in silence, stealing glances at each other and holding hands all they way to the dorms.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
  
  
"This is crazy. I think I've just remembered why I haven't been out on a date in something like two years." Sora said as she alternated holding two blouses up to herself in the mirror. Both were short-sleeved. One was red, and a little loose on her, but it had a bit of a plunging neckline to it. The other was white, much tighter on her, and didn't show off so much cleavage, but it was short and showed off her belly button.  
  
"And that reason would be?" Emi asked, looking up from her magazine.  
  
"I hate trying to decide what to wear for a guy." Sora said flatly. "These are the only two blouses I really like at the moment, and I have no idea which one won't make Izzy freeze up on me completely."  
  
"Hmm...let's see them one more time."  
  
Sora sighed and tried both on for Emi, who looked her over with a considering eye. After a few minutes, Emi sat back down, pursing her lips.  
  
"Boy, tough call Sora. They both look dynamite on you. What do you want to show off more to him?" Emi asked.  
  
"What the hell kind of question is that? This is Izzy after all, Emi!"  
  
"Put that idea out of your head for a minute, Sora." Emi told her, standing back up. "Tonight he's not just Izzy, he's a guy you're on a date with. You want to be interesting and appealing on top of being fun to be with."  
  
"I guess you have a point." Sora conceded. "I think I'll go with the white one."  
  
"Good choice. Though it'd be even better if you wore a skirt instead of those dark blue slacks."  
  
"Don't even start on me there again, Emi. I had to wear skirts for way too long throughout middle and high school." Sora told her as she pulled the white shirt on. She grabbed her brush and set to brushing out her hair. Once done, she put in a pair of gold earrings with small diamond chips in them and put on a gold heart pendant. For her finishing touch, she touched herself up in a couple of spots with scented oil that smelled like wildflowers. Satisfied with her preparations, she turned and presented herself to Emi.  
  
"You clean up pretty well, Sora." Emi said approvingly. No sooner did she say that than there was a knock at the door. Emi answered it to find it was Hiroshi, who had Kimiko and Rei in tow as well.  
  
"Hey! We came over to see the girl who has the hot date tonight!" he said. "Oh, and to see you too, babe."  
  
"Well gee, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." Emi said, acting annoyed. Kimiko and Rei pushed past the couple to see Sora.  
  
"You'll knock him dead, Sora. I know it." Rei told her excitedly.  
  
"Absolutely." Kimiko said in agreement. "So what's the plan?"  
  
"Uh, guys? This isn't really that big a deal." Sora said, feeling a bit conscious about all the attention she was getting.  
  
"Not a big deal? Sora, this is your first date since Matt. We're all thrilled that you've turned around so much in such a short amount of time." Kimiko told her.  
  
"And with someone you've known most of your life, who's a close friend to boot! It's just like what happened with Megumi in 'Star Gazers' when she met up with Sanosuke again." Rei said, referencing back to one of her soap opera shows. She sighed dramatically. "Such a romantic story!"  
  
"Um, what's with the impromptu party?" Izzy asked upon reaching the open front door. He had on a green, buttoned shirt that was left open over an orange shirt with black stripes, and a pair of olive colored slacks.  
  
'Whoa. Sora's not the only one that cleans up nice.' Emi thought on seeing Izzy. She recovered quickly with an excuse. "We were just here to see you two off is all Izzy."  
  
Sora made her way past the mass of people into the hall and looked back at the group before they left.  
  
"Don't wait up for us." Sora told them with a wink.  
  
"Have her back by a decent time, young man!" Hiroshi said, acting like he were Sora's father. Izzy stifled a chuckle as he departed with Sora. The group moved into the hall, watching them leave.  
  
"Well, here's to hoping they have a good time." Rei said, folding her arms.  
  
"Seriously, Rei, you are cool with this right?" Emi asked her in a concerned tone.  
  
"I guess I still kinda like him, you know? But seeing him and Sora together, I know they're meant for each other."  
  
"Sounds like someone needs a tub of Rocky Road ice cream and a movie marathon." Kimiko said.  
  
"Don't gotta twist my arm for that one!"  
  
"Please don't tell me I have to make a run for the ice cream..." Hiroshi whimpered.  
  
"Silly Hiroshi, of course you do!" Emi told him. "You're the only one with a car. And besides, you need to make it up to me for your comment before!"  
  
"Aw come on, I was joking, Emi! You know that!"  
  
"I'm not seeing any ice cream yet, Hiroshi. Less talk, more moving!" Emi told him as she pushed him towards the stairs.  
  
"Why do I let you do this to me?" Hiroshi wondered aloud as he walked towards the stairwell. He then smirked and looked back at Emi, winking as he said, "Oh wait, I just remembered."  
  
"Okay, that's it mister. Girls! He's in need of a tickle attack!" Emi called out to Kimiko and Rei. The two girls were quick to join her in trying to chase Hiroshi down, who was pleading for his life while being chased.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Sora and Izzy were having a hard time not laughing out loud and making a scene in the restaurant. They had placed their orders some time ago and had gotten to reminiscing about old times, and were remembering some of the funnier moments they'd remembered from high school.  
  
"So then Tai and Matt went running out of the gym locker room in nothing but towels, and the rest of us were just howling with laughter at them." Izzy said, capping his part of a story.  
  
"Oh God, I remember that! The girls had already finished cleaning up and were waiting for the bell, and the next thing we know Matt is chasing Tai around the gym, and they were wearing nothing but towels." Sora said, giggling madly. "I don't think either of them stopped hearing about it until we graduated. What caused that?"  
  
"Tai snapped Matt's behind with a towel. Really hard." Izzy said, chuckling. Sora finally busted up laughing as she leaned forward onto the table. Both of them finally calmed down a few minutes later.  
  
"We certainly had some fun times in high school, didn't we?" Sora said after recovering.  
  
"Well, you guys did. Remember, I was Izzy the Hermit back then." Izzy reminded her.  
  
"I still don't get why, though, Izzy. I mean, you're smart, witty, and have a good sense of humor. You would've fit right in with us and everything we did. Why didn't you want to hang out with us?"  
  
"I was dealing with a lot of angst back then. For as much as I might have actually fit in, I certainly didn't feel like I fit in." Izzy said, sitting back a bit in his seat. "I thought about things that no one else gave thought to, and I don't just mean technical or scientific stuff. There were some philosophical questions I was wrestling with, and I didn't want to dare bring them up in public for fear of what kind of reaction I'd get just for asking the questions."  
  
"I guess I can appreciate that, but sometimes you just have to cut loose and stop worrying about the problems of the world you know. You can't carry the weight of the world for long before you need a breather after all."  
  
"I know that better now, but a couple of years ago you wouldn't have been able to convince me of that. Trust me."  
  
"Another question I have for you: what about dating? Wasn't there anyone before college you wanted to go out with, or even anyone you had a crush on?"  
  
"That's, uh...well, I guess there's no harm in saying it now." Izzy said, hesitating to answer the question. "There were two girls I had a crush on, but it was in middle school."  
  
"Who were they?" Sora asked, smiling as she was eager to hear who it was. She had an inkling of an idea who one of them had to be.  
  
"Well, one was Mimi." Izzy told her. "She was one person I was really able to connect with while she was here. But after she moved away, that pretty much killed any chance we might have had."  
  
"I always had a feeling that you had a thing for her. It's really too bad, you would've been cute together."  
  
"Maybe, but she wasn't my first crush really."  
  
"Really? I would've thought your other crush was on Yolei."  
  
"Yolei? Are you kidding me? We worked a lot together, granted, but she changed her mind about guys on a daily basis."  
  
"Well, then, who was your other..."  
  
Sora stopped before she could complete her question, the answer becoming readily apparent. Izzy just nodded at her, feeling a bit sheepish and embarrassed about it.  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me about it?" Sora asked.  
  
"You were 15, Sora. I was 14. What could possibly have happened? And even setting that aside, for as long as I could remember you had eyes for either Taichi or Yamato only. I figured there was no room for me in the picture." Izzy told her.  
  
"Izzy...So I guess tonight is kind of like a dream come true for you then, huh?"  
  
"Between being here with you tonight, and what happened the other night when the power was out, yeah."  
  
"So is it everything you thought it might be?" Sora asked, her curiosity taking over.  
  
"It's much, much better." Izzy told her sincerely. The two smiled at each other for a moment just before the food arrived. Sora and Izzy both eagerly dug into their food. Several minutes later, Sora set her silverware down and relaxed back in her seat, having finished. Izzy still had some of his pasta left to go, though.  
  
"That was good! Just what I needed." Sora said in satisfaction.  
  
"I'm amazed you finished all of that. I mean, that was a heck of a lot of food there." Izzy said as he twirled the remainder of his pasta onto his fork.  
  
"Heh, if I were more ladylike I wouldn't have eaten half of that plate. But I stopped caring about being a 'proper lady' a while ago. It's so incredibly stifling!"  
  
"I can only imagine, but at least you're happier being yourself instead of someone you're not."  
  
"Got that right. I still feel so stupid for acting like I did for so many years, though. Trying to impress Tai or Matt, making sure I said just the right things and all that junk; my life was a complete façade. I couldn't stand it. But for a while there, so long as I had Matt it made it worthwhile."  
  
"This is why I had a crush on you for so long, Sora." Izzy told her as he finished his food. "Aside from being incredibly pretty, you were brave enough to be your own person regardless of what other people thought. I really admired that about you."  
  
"Boy, you really are a smoothie, aren't you?" Sora smiled brilliantly at him.  
  
"It's all the truth, Sora."  
  
"Oh don't worry, it's not a bad thing being smooth Izzy. Trust me."  
  
Sora reached across the table, putting her hands on his. Izzy looked up to see her smiling softly at him. He felt like he could melt inside whenever she smiled at him like that, or at all for that matter. They sat there just looking at each other for a long while, holding hands and enjoying being together.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
It was some time after dinner, and Sora had just wanted to walk around for a while with Izzy before they returned to the dorms. They passed through the dimly lit campus, enjoying the walk around.  
  
"It's much nicer to walk around here when you're not rushing to class, you know?" Izzy commented.  
  
"I know that feeling. I'm glad we have autumn break coming up soon. It'll be nice to not have to worry about class work for a little while." Sora added. "Hey, you want to head over to Himenokawa Park?"  
  
"Where's that?"  
  
"You don't know yet? Oh geez, that's right. I keep forgetting you're a freshman Izzy. Sorry."  
  
"Don't worry. You're not the only one. A couple of the jocks in one of my classes keep asking me questions like I'm a teacher's assistant or something."  
  
"That must be a pain. Anyway, let me show it to you."  
  
"Lead on!"  
  
Sora led the way across and around campus, finally coming to a secluded area with many more trees and no building around. A tiny stream flowed through the middle of the would-be forest, with a sturdy wooden bridge standing for those wanting to cross between both sides. Lightning bugs floated through the air around the bridge, every now and again giving off their luminescent glow.  
  
"I didn't think a place like this existed around here." Izzy said in amazement. "It's incredible..."  
  
"Isn't it?" Sora said, stepping down towards the bridge. "I always wanted to come down here with Matt, but we never made it here. Something was always up, and then of course there was...well, you know."  
  
"Sora..."  
  
Sora stepped onto the bridge a little, leaning back against the rail as she sighed, looking down at the stream.  
  
"I still have nightmares every now and again about being alone." She told him, her voice a bit distant, almost fearful. "I had them every night for months after Matt left me. It's a worse fear than even my fear of storms, because it's so much more tangible, and possible to become reality. My mother has spent much of her life being lonely because of dad's work and how it keeps him away from home."  
  
Sora turned away from Izzy and rested her palms on the rail as she looked out at the stream, continuing to give her feelings voice.  
  
"I don't want to end up like that. I don't want to be alone. To me there's no worse feeling in the world than thinking that you don't have someone to care for you. No one who holds you dear, or to whom you're more special than anything. I guess I'd say that it's what Hell would be for me. To be alone. Totally alone."  
  
Izzy stepped up behind her slowly and silently. His hands moved from his sides, hesitantly at first, finally sliding around her bare waist as he hugged her from behind. He felt her lean back into him and relaxed a little. Sora closed her eyes, enjoying being close to him.  
  
"You won't be alone, Sora. Not anymore. I promise." Izzy said after they stood there for a few silent moments. "Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there."  
  
Sora smiled and took hold of one of Izzy's hands, pulling gently as she led him to the middle of the bridge. Once there, she faced him again, lacing her arms around his neck loosely.  
  
"There's a tradition with this bridge, you know." She told him as she lost herself in his dark eyes. "Couples that come here and kiss will be happy as long as they're together."  
  
"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, Sora." Izzy told her, putting his hands at her sides again.  
  
"With you, I am." Sora said before kissing him.  
  
As they kissed, the fireflies around them seemed to swirl around them, glowing as they encircled the couple. The rest of the world just fell away as they kissed for quite some time. For Izzy, it was a dream come true; and for Sora, it was a sign that her heart was finally beginning to heal. 


	9. A Spritz of Conflict

A Spritz of Conflict  
  
Izzy flipped through the pages of the CD organizer, looking over the CDs inside and shaking his head. After a few minutes, he closed the organizer again and looked over at Sora, who was driving.  
  
"Do you own any CDs that aren't boy bands?" he asked.  
  
"Oh come on, it's good music!" she told him. "Just pick one and put it in already!"  
  
"I could've very easily put together some mix CDs on my computer before we left school, but you insisted that your music collection was good enough for the trip. Little did I know that the Sora we all thought we knew was a fanatic of groups like Glay and KinKi Kids."  
  
"You make it sound like I have a terminal disease, Izzy."  
  
"There's hope for you yet, though!" Izzy said, reaching over and squeezing her shoulder lightly, his voice completely melodramatic. "I'll have to transplant some good music into your collection to bring it back from the brink is all."  
  
"Pick a CD before I decide to stop concentrating on driving and pick one for you."  
  
"As always, threatening to do something that will inflict bodily harm on me, or in this case both of us, is more than enough incentive for me." Izzy said, opening the organizer again and picking a CD. "L'arc en Ciel it is, then."  
  
"I'll get you trained yet." Sora told him, a hint of satisfaction in her voice at his choice.  
  
"Thanks again for bringing me with you back to Odaiba for Autumn Break, Sora."  
  
"Well I couldn't just go and leave you at college all alone, could I? Besides, my mom wants to see the guy that got me to pick myself up and dust myself off again after Matt."  
  
"Wait...you mean she doesn't know it's me?"  
  
"I tried to tell her last time I talked to her on the phone, but we got to talking about everything else, and it slipped my mind!"  
  
"Well, this will be interesting. Because you know she's not the only one we'll have to tell."  
  
"Think we'll be able to track anyone else down?"  
  
"The younger group at least, and I want to try and find Tai as well if at all possible."  
  
"Are you sure about that?"  
  
"He's got to know sooner or later, and beside which there's no good reason for him not to be talking to you anymore."  
  
"I would like to be able to talk to him again..."  
  
"If I can, I'll make it happen. I promise."  
  
"I know you will, Izzy."  
  
Sora reached over with her right hand, meeting his left hand halfway and squeezing it tightly. She couldn't very well give him a kiss while driving, but it would suffice for the moment.  
  
The car continued to speed along the roads towards Odaiba, bringing the two closer to a situation that neither of them could possibly have been expecting to come home to.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"Mom! I'm home!" Sora called out as she entered the flower shop. Izzy followed behind her, looking around at all the flowers as Sora searched for her mother. A couple minutes later, Mrs. Takenouchi appeared from the back, rushing over to her daughter.  
  
"Welcome home, dear!" she said, hugging Sora. "How was the drive?"  
  
"It went faster than usual, but that's because I had company with me." Sora told her with a smile.  
  
"Indeed." Her mother smiled and looked over towards the doorway. "And...Izzy, is that you?"  
  
"Hi Mrs. Takenouchi. Glad to see you're doing well." Izzy said, waving to her from across the store.  
  
"Now then, where's this young man that has been such a help to you lately, Sora?"  
  
"Ah, eheheh, actually mom, you um...just talked to him."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sora's mother looked at her quizzically, then looked over at Izzy, and then back at Sora again.  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yup. Izzy's the one who I've been telling you about."  
  
"I always felt that you might end up with one of your childhood friends, but I always thought before...well..."  
  
"That it'd be Tai? Sorry to disappoint you, mom."  
  
"Disappoint me? Sora, please don't take offense at this, but I've known all along that you and Tai would never have been happy together."  
  
"Then why did you think I'd end up with him?"  
  
"Because I remember how much you used to like him before...well, before you got together with Matt."  
  
"Yeah, I remember."  
  
"The question I have is, does he make you happy?"  
  
"Mom, you're making all of this sound like I'm going to get married to him tomorrow!"  
  
"Well you can't fault me for being curious about your love life, dear. So?"  
  
"Well..." Sora sighed, looking over at Izzy, who was still admiring flower arrangements, oblivious to their conversation. "We're not really serious yet. We still don't even consider all the things we do together to be dating or anything like that. We just really enjoy being together is all. And yet...he says things to me and does things for me that no guy ever has before. At this rate, I think I really am falling for him, you know?"  
  
"It sounds to me like you might just have found the right one for you, Sora. I'm glad to see you're taking your time this time, too. There's nothing worse than being in a hurry to fall in love."  
  
"Yeah, I know that all too well now."  
  
"Well anyway, feel free to drop off your bags back at home and I'll see you tonight. And tell Izzy he's more than welcome to come over for dinner anytime while you're here."  
  
"I will, though I imagine I'll be getting the same invitation from his folks. I'll let you guys fight over who gets to have us first." Sora joked.  
  
"I won't give up easily!" her mother replied, going along with it. They hugged again, and Sora rejoined Izzy at the front of the store. Izzy waved goodbye to Mrs. Takenouchi and followed Sora back to the car.  
  
"So how'd she take it?" Izzy asked as they drove off. Sora smiled, looking over at him as they pulled up to a stop.  
  
"I'd say she's happier for me than she's ever been before."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"I promise we'll be back for dinner, mom!" Izzy said for what was about the twenty-fifth time.  
  
"Okay dear! Have fun with your girlfriend!" Mrs. Izumi called back as Izzy and Sora finally departed the apartment, with Izzy breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
"I still can't believe she actually called your mother!" he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they walked.  
  
"It works out, though. My mom will join us all for dinner together at your place tonight, and tomorrow your folks come over for dinner at my place. Everybody wins!" Sora said, recapping the decision.  
  
"True. I just wish my parents hadn't insisted on calling you my girlfriend, even after I tried to explain everything to them."  
  
"What's the harm in it? I sure don't mind."  
  
"You don't?" Izzy asked, somewhat amazed.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, as much as we may deny it because we say we're not that serious, that's still kinda what we are now to each other." Sora replied, stepping over closer to him. She took his hand in hers as they continued towards the elevator. "And I don't mind in the least."  
  
"You really are amazing, Sora."  
  
Sora flashed a bright smile at Izzy, giving him a peck on the cheek as they reached the elevator. They pushed the "down" button, but as Izzy stood back to wait for the elevator Sora pulled him up to her, giggling at him. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, sliding her arms around his waist.  
  
"I've been wanting to do this again since we got in the car." She said.  
  
"You don't see me protesting, do you?" Izzy replied, putting his arms around her as well. Sora smiled and kissed him again, not paying attention to the elevator, which was just now arriving. The doors opened, and someone stepped out and stopped right in front of them.  
  
"Sora? Izzy?" Both of them heard him say. They stopped kissing and looked over to see a tall, young boy with short, blonde hair, a white t- shirt and a pair of cargo shorts on with sandals. He looked fairly surprised.  
  
"Heh...um...hiya TK! Long time no see!" Sora said, still holding Izzy. TK just grumbled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.  
  
"What is with my luck anymore? You're the second new couple I've had the misfortune to come across while they were kissing!" he said, sounding rather upset. Sora and Izzy exchanged looks and let go of each other, moving over to TK.  
  
"Second? What's going on, TK?" Izzy asked. At closer inspection, Izzy could see that TK's eyes were rather red. He'd been crying on his way back home.  
  
"I'd just as soon not talk about it, Izzy. Sorry I bothered you two." He said, starting to walk past them.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Sora said, cutting him off. "I don't intend to see you moping around the entire time we're home for vacation TK, so come clean."  
  
"Please, Sora...just leave me alone. If you want to know what's going on I suggest you go talk to Ken. Or better yet, Kari." TK said, stepping around her. As he walked off, Sora turned back to Izzy, a look of worry on her face now.  
  
"Ken and Kari?" she said in somewhat disbelief. "But I thought Kari was happy with TK?"  
  
"We all thought you were happy with Matt, Sora, and that didn't turn out to be the case." Izzy said. "Obviously, something's up that we're in the dark about."  
  
"I was kind of hoping we wouldn't have to be solving any mysteries on our vacation like this." Sora made a face of displeasure at the notion. "But it looks like they may need some intervention to help straighten things out."  
  
"We should do our homework first." Izzy said, hitting the elevator button again. The elevator hadn't moved, so the doors opened right away and both of them boarded it. "And I know just where to start." He added as they descended to the ground.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy and Sora reached their destination after a short walk, although it looked quite different from how they remembered it looking.  
  
"You're sure this is the convenience store Yolei's family owns?" Sora asked, looking at the entrance.  
  
"I sure hope so." Izzy said, likewise amazed.  
  
The storefront looked to have been completely redone, with electronic sliding doors, scrolling signs that announced the week's specials, and a separate window for people coming to get takeout lunches. The magazine racks had a different selection outside as well, along with some manga titles. Upon entering, a brief melody chimed around them, welcoming them into the store. The store had indeed been remodeled, and rather recently at that  
  
No sooner had they entered than Yolei stepped back to the register from the back, dressed in a green and white uniform with a matching hat. She had a rather unenthusiastic look in her face as she went to her register.  
  
"Irrashaima..." she began to say in monotone. She stopped as she saw Izzy and Sora, who were both waving at her from the entrance. She instantly brightened up as she dashed around the counter, almost tackling both of them with a monstrous hug. "Oh God, I'm so glad to see a pair of friendly faces for a change!"  
  
"It's great to see you too, Yolei!" Sora said, hugging her back, as Izzy also did. "And I have to say, the uniform is kind of cute on you."  
  
"Ugh, please don't say that." Yolei said in disgust.  
  
"So what's with the new look around here?" Izzy asked.  
  
"We got bought out by one of the bigger convenience store chains." Yolei explained. "Dad still has something of a managerial role, but I have to wear these disgusting uniforms. I hate green! And my hours suck now too."  
  
"The store looks nice, though. Very modern." Sora said, trying to find a positive.  
  
"I hate that, too. It's so sterile, and lacking personality.I liked our old store so much better."  
  
"But you probably get more sales now, right?"  
  
"Yeah. It's just not the same is all. Anyhow, how long are you guys in town for?"  
  
"A week, we're on autumn break from college." Izzy said.  
  
"We have to hang out sometime. You have to tell me about everything that's new and exciting." Yolei told them.  
  
"Hmm, how about we show you instead?" Sora asked, smiling devilishly at Izzy.  
  
Yolei was about to ask what she meant when Sora grabbed Izzy, kissing him right in front of her. She let him go after a moment, looking back at Yolei who had a look of utter surprise on her face.  
  
"I think I've seen everything now..." she said, the corner of her mouth twitching a little. She shook it off a moment later. "Well, nice to see someone I know has a relatively stable love life."  
  
"Funny you should say that." Izzy said, still recovering from Sora's last kiss. "We ran into TK earlier on, and he was pretty upset."  
  
"TK has every right to be upset right now." Yolei told him, folding her arms as she spoke.  
  
"He said something about Ken and Kari. Are they together now?" Sora asked.  
  
"Are you guys so sure you want to open this can of worms? I guarantee it's not going to be pretty."  
  
"Just fill us in, Yolei." Izzy told her. Yolei took a deep breath, sighing heavily as she recalled how things had broken down over the past couple of months.  
  
"The school year started off normal-like. TK was with Kari, I was with Davis, and everything was running along just fine." She said, looking back and forth between Sora and Izzy. "At least until Kari started dating Ken behind TK's back. She told me about it, but swore me to secrecy about it. She said TK didn't understand her or some junk like that. I don't really remember what her reason for it was anymore.  
  
"TK started noticing that she was acting differently around him, but she never would tell him that anything was wrong. So TK asked Davis to see if he could find out. Davis being who he is traced the information back to me, but I couldn't tell him anything because I knew it'd get back to TK. We had a pretty big fight, and he.he broke up with me over it. That was a few weeks ago. Needless to say, I was pretty angry with myself, but I was also angry at Kari for not being more straightforward with TK about her and Ken, so...so I..."  
  
"You leaked the information to TK about them." Sora finished for her. "And unless I miss my guess, he caught them kissing somewhere. He mentioned something to that effect to us before."  
  
"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened. It didn't take long for Kari and Ken to figure out I'd squealed on them, so they're mad at me now too. The only people who are still speaking to me are TK and Cody, and TK hardly even speaks anymore. He's absolutely heartbroken over Kari. And I...I just keep to myself pretty much anymore. I keep my mouth shut, for fear that I'll make someone else mad at me..."  
  
Yolei started to sniffle a bit, but Izzy was quick to offer her a tissue from his pocket. She took it, dabbing at her eyes a little.  
  
"We're sorry we made you relive all that, Yolei, but at least now we know what's wrong." Izzy said apologetically.  
  
"Don't sweat it Izzy. I relive it all every day I see any of them anyway." Yolei told him, regaining some of her composure. "So what are you guys going to do?"  
  
"I don't know yet." Sora said pensively. "I think it's obvious we need to talk to Kari and get her version of things next."  
  
"That might be harder than you think." Yolei said, a hint of warning in her voice. "I'm not totally certain, but Tai might be back in town for a bit too."  
  
"That would complicate things a bit, but it may also work to our advantage as well." Izzy said thoughtfully. He looked up at Sora, and then said, "I should talk to him alone first."  
  
"Izzy, no!" Sora protested. "Tai is way more irrational than Matt, and I know you won't just walk away from him with a bruise on your face!"  
  
"I promised you I'd help you resolve your last problem, Sora, and I keep my promises." Izzy said, his voice sounding resolute. "I know I can make him understand, but I have to see him alone."  
  
"Not tonight, though...please?" Sora asked. Izzy could see the concern in her eyes and nodded, smiling back at her as he did.  
  
"It can wait until tomorrow." He said, which seemed to comfort her a bit. Izzy looked over at Yolei, then. "You going to be okay, Yolei?"  
  
"I've managed this far on my own. Besides, like I said, at least being alone I can't get anyone else mad at me." She replied, forcing a smile for him.  
  
"It's always easier to get through a storm with someone around, Yolei." Sora told her, looking sidewise at Izzy for a moment. "I know that much from experience. Trust me."  
  
"Seriously, guys, nobody wants to be around me right now anyway so don't worry about me. But good luck nonetheless. If you can get this straightened out, you're both better people than I am."  
  
"Take care, Yolei." Izzy told her. She just nodded and headed back to her register again as Sora and Izzy departed from the store.  
  
"She reminds me of me not too long ago." Sora said once they were away from the store. "She needs someone to help cheer her up."  
  
"I know, but there's some things we can't fix, unfortunately." Izzy said with a sigh.  
  
"Or maybe we can..." Sora said as an idea occurred to her.  
  
"What're you thinking?"  
  
"Nothing just yet. I may pay someone a visit tomorrow when you go to see Tai." Sora said, thinking a bit to herself.  
  
"You'll be okay on your own?"  
  
"Yeah, I won't be too nosy or pushy. I'll just make a suggestion is all." She replied, smiling to herself.  
  
"Well, let's get back to my place and relax until dinnertime." Izzy said. Sora nodded and they headed back to Izzy's home, both of them concocting their own plans for tomorrow.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy took a deep breath and stretched out his neck a bit, and then rung the doorbell to the Kamiya home. He'd had to spend a half hour that morning convincing Sora that he'd be okay seeing Tai again, and now that he was there he was beginning to worry about it himself. Still, it was all for Sora's sake, which was all that mattered in his mind.  
  
The door opened, and Tai stood in the genkan, his toothbrush still in his mouth. Fortunately, he was dressed for the day.  
  
"Isshy! Hey, how are ya, man?" Tai said, not taking the toothbrush out of his mouth.  
  
"Doing good, Tai. Why don't you finish brushing your teeth?" he said, chuckling at his friend.  
  
"Righ...shorry. C'mon in."  
  
Izzy thanked him and stepped inside, leaving his shoes at the genkan. Tai ran back to the bathroom, finished brushing his teeth, and then rejoined his friend, giving him a big bear hug as he got back.  
  
"Oof! Cripes, Tai! You've been working out!" Izzy said, noting that Tai was squeezing him much harder than he ever had before.  
  
"Heh, kinda. Too much free time at college, and I've been pushing myself lately." He said, setting Izzy down. "So how's everything by you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm doing pretty well these days. Suffice it to say college has had a definite impact on me so far."  
  
"You devil! You've got a girl, don't you?" Tai said, grinning in his usual goofy manner at Izzy.  
  
"So to speak, yeah. And actually, that kind of segues into what I came here for."  
  
Tai sat down on the couch as Izzy leaned against the edge of it, wondering just what Izzy was getting to.  
  
"I was wondering...when's the last time you talked to Sora?" Izzy asked, getting right to it. Tai's face quickly soured.  
  
"Not this again." He grumbled.  
  
"I'll take it that means you haven't since graduation."  
  
"Give me a good reason why I should talk to her."  
  
"How about because she's your friend? How about because you should have accepted by now that she doesn't feel about you like you feel about her? Most all, how about because prolonging this any more is pretty damn childish?"  
  
"You done preaching yet, Izzy? Hell, I thought you understood it all! She ripped my heart out! She let me think she liked me like that for so long, and then she just throws it all back in my face! All I ever did was care about her, and she treated me like dirt."  
  
"And so you've been indulging in self-pity ever since. Did you ever stop to think that all this time you've cut her off has hurt her too?"  
  
"I was counting on it."  
  
"And what exactly were you hoping it would achieve, huh? Tell me!"  
  
Tai fell silent, not responding to Izzy's question. Izzy stood back up, wanting to press the issue further.  
  
"She doesn't love you, Tai. She wants you back as the friend you used to be to her. We all used to be the best of friends, remember? We promised each other that we'd never let anything get in the way of our friendship. We all strayed from that before, but there was no good reason for it. Now tell me, do you really not care about Sora anymore?"  
  
"I...I don't know Izzy. I really don't."  
  
"Is that so? Then answer me something else." Izzy said, walking around to the other side of the couch. His expression changed as he looked at Tai with eyes filled with hurt and anger now. "Why didn't you ever tell me that she and Matt broke up last year?"  
  
"Huh? Why bring that up?"  
  
"Just answer me, Tai. I've been Sora's friend almost as long as you have. I should've been told about it, but I didn't find out until a couple months ago when I met her at college. Now tell me, why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I...I couldn't get in touch with you." Tai said, trying to avoid Izzy's gaze as he stood up from his chair.  
  
"Liar!" Izzy shot at Tai. Tai looked back at him, now starting to get angry himself. Izzy wasn't finished, though. "You had my phone number, my address, my website address, and my e-mail address. And you never even tried to let me know! So try again, Tai. Why was I left in the dark?"  
  
"Izzy, it was a weird time. It must've slipped my mind, so let it go!" Tai said, getting upset.  
  
"No, I won't! I care about Sora too! She was hurt really bad when they broke up! I could've been there for her too, but I never knew about it. Of all the people I know, you should've been the first one to get back to be and let me know!"  
  
"I don't have to take this, Izzy, so shut the hell up already!"  
  
"Fine then. If you don't have the guts to tell me the truth, I can probably fill in the blanks by myself." Izzy said, not breaking his gaze from Tai's. "She was hurt bad, depressed even. She was on the rebound, and you figured it was your big chance to step in and pick up the pieces that Matt left lying around. You thought you could just glide right into the picture and get everything you ever wanted, but you thought that I represented a threat to that chance! After all, I'm the only other person as close to her as you. And that's why I got left out, isn't it Tai?"  
  
Izzy was about a few inches away from Tai now, glaring at him as he came to his conclusion.  
  
"I got left out because you thought you could pick Sora up on the rebound, and you didn't want me possibly getting in the way!"  
  
Tai was fuming with anger, clenching his fists as Izzy laid down his accusation. Try as he might, though, he couldn't raise his hand to strike his friend for a single, solitary reason that he couldn't deny: Izzy was right.  
  
"Did I leave anything out, Tai?" Izzy asked, backing down and calming down. "If I did, feel free to fill it in. But by the look in your eyes, I think I pretty much hit the nail on the head."  
  
Tai finally took in a long breath, exhaling slowly as he sat back down, hanging his head as he slumped into a chair.  
  
"I...I never meant to hurt your feelings, Izzy." He said. "I just wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be that special someone who could lift her spirits. You did leave out one thing though: I failed. Sora was too depressed to even pay any attention to me when I tried to call her. It only made me angrier with her and Matt, so I just gave up. I never got around to telling you because I was that spiteful. I'm sorry, Izzy. I really am."  
  
"What happened happened, Tai. It can't be changed, but I don't hold it against you." Izzy told him, sitting down on the couch just diagonal from him. "But don't bear a grudge against Sora or Matt anymore. Like I said, she wants her old friends back again."  
  
"Give me some more time, Izzy. I promise I'll get back in touch with her." Tai said. Izzy nodded at his friend and reached over, patting him on the back.  
  
"That's the Tai I remember."  
  
"So anyhow, enough drama for now. Tell me about the girl you've hooked up with." Tai said, trying to get things back to normal.  
  
"Heh, um...maybe we should talk about that another time, Tai." Izzy said nervously, biting his lower lip a bit.  
  
"Come clean, man. Who's the...wait a sec. It can't be...you're joking..." Tai said in utter disbelief.  
  
"Heh...kinda ironic, isn't it?" Izzy said, laughing nervously. 'He's going to kill me now, isn't he?' he added to himself in thought.  
  
Tai couldn't help himself anymore. He burst out into raucous laughter, practically falling out of his chair as he did. Izzy sat and watched as he rolled about, laughing his head off. Finally, Tai recovered and sat back in his chair, wiping his eyes from the tears caused by intense laughter.  
  
"Damn, Izzy...you managed to succeed where both Matt and I fail? That's just great."  
  
"It didn't happen overnight, Tai, nor was it my intent from the beginning." Izzy explained. "Sora needed a friend, and I wanted to help her be happy again. Things only really cemented in the past few weeks between us, and we're still not really serious yet either."  
  
"So tell me about it all! If I'm going to catch up with her sometime, I gotta know what's been going on."  
  
"First, I need to ask you a favor Tai. And it's the other reason behind my coming here." Izzy said, getting back on track. "We need some time to talk to Kari alone. Can you help arrange something for me?"  
  
"I'll see what I can do, though she hasn't exactly been very sociable lately." Tai said.  
  
"I'd appreciate it. Now then, I guess I'd better start from the beginning." Izzy said, sitting back on the couch. He started retelling everything from college, all of which were fond memories. And as he sat telling Tai about it, he could feel that the friendship that had once been was coming back just as strong.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
TK answered his door and groaned inwardly when he saw Sora standing outside. He had a feeling what was coming, and he didn't want to hear it all again.  
  
"Sora, I'm not in the mood for another speech." He told her.  
  
"I'm not here to preach to you, TK. I'm here on another mission." Sora replied. "Can I come in?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
TK opened his door, letting Sora step inside. After leaving her shoes at the genkan, she took a seat in a chair near the couch, where TK flopped down onto his back.  
  
"So if you're not here to talk to me about Ken and Kari, what're you here for?" he asked, looking up at her.  
  
"I'm here to talk to you about Yolei." Sora told him with a sly smile.  
  
"Davis had no right to just dump her like that!" TK said, suddenly sitting up straight on the couch. "I wanted to know what Kari was up to, but.not like how it all happened."  
  
"Judging from your reaction, you do seem to be concerned about her." Sora noted.  
  
"Of course I am. She's a friend, and a good one at that. And I hate seeing her miserable, for that matter."  
  
"Really? Sounds like someone might just have a secret crush on her."  
  
"Sora...she wouldn't be interested in me. I'm not anything like her." TK folded his legs underneath him as he sat on the couch.  
  
"How do you know that? Have you spent time just talking to her?"  
  
"Not really..."  
  
"Well, maybe you should give it a shot."  
  
"Misery loves company, eh?"  
  
"Think of it more like two friends who could both use some cheering up, and take things from there. Just keep an open mind. I think you could both use some talk time."  
  
"I'll think about it. I guess I could use someone to talk to about how I've been feeling lately."  
  
"I'm sure she could use the same kind of thing, TK. Now what about Kari and Ken?"  
  
"I'd settle for a real explanation from Kari as to why she left me. Other than that, if she's happy then who am I to get in her way?"  
  
"Well, leave that to Izzy and me."  
  
"Good luck."  
  
"And good luck to you and Yolei, too. Now how about we go grab some lunch and meet up with Izzy after that?"  
  
TK agreed, and the two headed off for a fast food place, eager to get their minds off of serious topics and some food in their stomachs. Sora knew that whenever they managed to track down Kari, it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation. But the process of mending relationships was one that she knew very well was usually not an easy one, not to mention messy for all involved. 


	10. A Touch of Resolution

A Touch of Resolution  
  
Dinner at Sora's home was a good time for all, even if it was pretty much a repeat of the dinner they'd all had the previous night at Izzy's home. Izzy's parents headed back for home shortly afterwards, but Izzy stayed behind to help with the dishes. As soon as the dishes were done, all three of them sat down to relax and watch some TV. A couple hours later, Mrs. Takenouchi bid the two good night as she headed for bed, leaving the two to themselves. Sora motioned for Izzy to join her on the couch, which he did. She curled up onto the couch, leaning into him.  
  
"So how did things go with Tai?" she asked, not paying much attention to the show on TV.  
  
"It was something of a shouting match, but I think I got through to him. At least it seemed like it." Izzy replied, putting an arm around her. "You might hear from him sometime soon."  
  
"My hero comes through again. Thank you, Izzy."  
  
"My pleasure. And how did your plan go?"  
  
"I think TK will be paying Yolei a visit sometime soon. I hope they give things a shot. They both need someone to talk to right now."  
  
"TK and Yolei...now there's an interesting couple."  
  
"Yeah. Whoever thought that might happen?"  
  
"Whoever thought we might happen for that matter?"  
  
"Point taken. Do you think we'll have any time to ourselves while we're back home on vacation?"  
  
"I'd say we have some right now, so let's enjoy it while it lasts."  
  
Izzy pulled Sora a little closer to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Sora closed her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the moment with him.  
  
'Matt never wanted to just do things like this. Just relaxing and watch TV or a movie on the couch together...I love this. I really shouldn't keep comparing Izzy to Matt, though. After all, Izzy is a completely different guy from him, and I think I'm beginning to love him for it.' She thought as she snuggled up to him.  
  
"Hey, want to go on a date while we're on vacation?" Izzy asked, looking over at her.  
  
"What did you have in mind?" Sora asked, looking back up at him.  
  
"Well, I thought I'd ask you first if you just want to have fun like always, or maybe something a bit more formal?"  
  
"Hmm...could you give me some time to think about that?"  
  
"Sure, take however much time you need."  
  
"I will make a decision before too long, otherwise we'll run out of vacation!"  
  
Izzy nodded, stifling a chuckle as they decided to just relax for the rest of their time together that night and watch TV. Even if the shows they watched weren't that interesting, at least it was an excuse for them to be together.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
A day later, Tai let Izzy know that Kari didn't have anything planned on Saturday during the day. Since they had all the information they needed, Izzy and Sora decided to just go about things as normal until then, not wanting to push things too much. Finally, Saturday morning rolled around, and Izzy and Sora arrived at the Kamiya home.  
  
"I hope she doesn't suspect anything." Izzy said, ringing the doorbell.  
  
"A little late to be worrying about that." Sora added, trying to swallow her own nerves. Kari answered the door shortly thereafter.  
  
"Izzy! Sora! I heard you guys were in town!" Kari said happily. She stepped out of the apartment, hugging each of them in turn. "Come in! Tai's not around right now."  
  
"I'll catch up with him later." Izzy said, letting Sora step in ahead of him. "How's everyone else doing these days?"  
  
"Oh, you know the group." Kari said, shrugging. "I wish I'd caught with you guys sooner. You must have to go back to college soon."  
  
"Yeah, we've been making our rounds. By the way, how's TK doing?" Sora asked, folding her hands behind her back.  
  
"He's good. I was just talking with him yesterday afternoon."  
  
"Really? That's interesting, considering I saw him hanging out in Yolei's store yesterday when I stopped by at about 3 in the afternoon." Izzy said as he took his shoes off in the genkan, walking around a little.  
  
"Um, guys? Why're we playing twenty questions?" Kari asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "This feels like a bad mystery drama."  
  
"For us, it is a bad mystery drama Kari." Sora said, leaning back against the front door of the apartment. "We came back from college for vacation and find TK feeling completely distraught, Yolei feeling completely alienated, and you and Ken apparently feeling newly infatuated with each other. At least such is the story we've gotten from everyone around. We were kind of hoping you'd fill us in with your story."  
  
"Tai is so dead when he gets back..." Kari muttered to herself.  
  
"Start whenever you want, Kari. We've got all day." Izzy said, sitting on the couch.  
  
"I just...I wanted a break from him was all!" Kari said, getting completely flustered. "Everyone's always said how we seemed to be destined for each other, and it was beginning to feel like it to me. I didn't want to be tied down to someone at age 15. I felt trapped!  
  
"Ken and I have always been good friends, so I started seeing him when I could sneak it in. One thing led to another, and then we started kissing after our dates. It just felt good was all. And then...TK found us one night.  
  
"Everything fell apart after that. I...I never wanted to hurt TK. I just wanted a little freedom was all. I still care about him! Ken and I called everything off after the incident with TK. But TK wouldn't even listen to me. That hurt me more than anything."  
  
"So you laid the blame on Yolei, who ended up getting hurt just because she was protecting you and the lie you were perpetuating just so you could have a little fun?" Sora said, looking at Kari in disbelief. "Kari, when was it going to end? Your little game ended up hurting three other peoples' feelings very deeply!"  
  
"I was miserable, Sora! You know what that's like! I just wanted to have some fun for a little while!" Kari shot back at her.  
  
"Well fun time is over, Kari. You owe everyone an explanation." Izzy said, looking over at her. "But you probably didn't need to be told that."  
  
"They're all going to hate me, I know it." Kari said, beginning to cry. Sora slipped out of her shoes finally and moved over, putting an arm around Kari.  
  
"They'll be angry at you, Kari, but they won't hate you. It may take some time, but they will all forgive you." She told her, trying to comfort her. "Your friends love you after all, Kari, and no matter what happens that will never change."  
  
"Y-you think so?" Kari asked timidly. Sora just hugged her tightly and smiled at her as she stepped back from her.  
  
"I know so."  
  
Kari regained her composure and nodded at the two of them, and then sat down in a chair as she collected her thoughts. She looked up at Izzy after a couple of minutes.  
  
"What about TK?" she asked. "Do I have a chance to get back with him?"  
  
"I'm sorry to say probably not, Kari." Izzy told her. "Like I said, he was talking with Yolei last time I saw him, and from I also understand that wasn't the first time."  
  
"I guess that's what I get, huh?"  
  
"You never know what might happen, Kari, so don't give up completely." Sora told her. Kari just shook her head as she stood back up.  
  
"No, I've lost him Sora. But at least I can salvage our friendship."  
  
"Well, I think we've rained on your parade enough for one day." Izzy said, moving towards the door. "I'm sorry it had to happen like this Kari."  
  
"Don't apologize, Izzy. I needed the wake-up call. Thank you both." Kari said, standing up and moving over to them. She hugged them both again. "I think I'll head out along with you guys. I suddenly want to talk to everybody and get this straightened up."  
  
No more words were needed between the three. They all left the apartment, and Kari split off from them once they reached the ground floor, going in search of her friends. Izzy and Sora turned to head off on their own when they happened across Tai who was heading back to his home.  
  
"Hi guys! How'd it all go with Kari?" he asked, approaching.  
  
"I think it'll all work out with some time." Izzy told him. "Thanks again for the info."  
  
"Hey, I knew what was going on, but Kari never listens to me anyway. I'm glad someone could get through to her like you got through to me, man."  
  
"Anytime, Tai."  
  
"Speaking of which, think I could borrow Sora from you for a little while? I think we have some catching up to do. About two years worth or so, give or take a few months."  
  
"Far be it from me to get between two friends." Izzy said, looking over at Sora with a smile.  
  
"Give me one second, Tai." Sora told him. Tai nodded, heading over a ways a bit. Sora then turned to face Izzy, a smile on her face. "Something a little nicer than normal, but not totally formal."  
  
"Huh?" Izzy responded.  
  
"That's my decision. I don't like dressing up too much, but I do want to do something nicer with you."  
  
"Oh, right!" Izzy said, picking up on what she meant. "Can I pick you up later today?"  
  
"I'll be waiting, Izzy." She replied sweetly.  
  
Sora stepped up to him and kissed him briefly before heading over to Tai and striking up her conversation with him. Izzy smiled to himself and rejoiced inwardly as he decided to take a stroll over to his old, favorite electronics stores and window shop a bit to kill the time. Already his mind was thinking about ways to make that night a fun and special one for Sora.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy waited patiently on the couch in Sora's living room for her to finish getting ready. He had on a dark green polo shirt and black pants with a pair of brown leather shoes that he'd taken off at the door. It was nothing too dressy, but it qualified as being casual wear. He noticed Mrs. Takenouchi looking over at him from her chair, and wondered what was on her mind.  
  
"Something wrong, ma'am?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm just remembering when you were both little kids, playing all the time." She said, coming out of her nostalgia for a moment. "You were close even back then. I should've seen that something would happen between the two of you."  
  
"Believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone is."  
  
"I mostly can't get over how happy she seems now. You've really had a profound effect on her, Izzy. Moreso than Matt ever did."  
  
"I just tried to be a good friend to her, and I like seeing her happy. The rest kind of just sprung from that."  
  
Mrs. Takenouchi seemed to smile even more at Izzy's comment. Both of them heard a door close behind them and they both stood up as Sora entered the room. She had on dark blue pants with a pair of black sandals in hand, and a tight red t-shirt. A gold locket hung around her neck, and she had a pair of diamond stud earrings in her ears. Her mother recognized the locket, but said nothing, figuring that Sora would tell Izzy all about it herself.  
  
"Sorry to make you wait. All set?" Sora asked, looking over at Izzy. He was already making his way over to her.  
  
"Absolutely!" he told her. "I'll have her back at a sane time, Mrs. Takenouchi!"  
  
"Oh, neither of you are kids anymore. Have a good time together!" Mrs. Takenouchi told them. Sora and Izzy put their shoes on quickly and headed out after a final set of goodbyes.  
  
"I hope I didn't make us too late, I just had a hard time finding this locket." Sora said, putting her hand to it.  
  
"It's very pretty, but so are you for that matter." Izzy told her, turning a little red as they walked along. "I've always thought so."  
  
"Why do you have such a high opinion of me, Izzy?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I? You're pretty, smart, you've never been anything but nice to me, and I feel like I could confide anything in you. I trust and respect you more than anyone else I've ever known."  
  
Sora fell silent, looking down slightly at the pavement as they walked. Izzy looked over at her, seeing a strange look in her eyes.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, I've been complimented before." Sora told him, her eyes still fixed on the sidewalk. "It's just...Matt would always tell me how pretty I was, but he never said things like you just did. You know, like how you said you respect me. And how you trust me. No one's ever said that to me."  
  
Sora's hand played with her locket idly as she spoke. Izzy noticed, but decided not to bring it up just yet. It was obvious something was on her mind, and he didn't want to pry too deeply if she wasn't ready to share it.  
  
"You know I'm not in the habit of saying things I don't mean, Sora." He said, smiling over at her. She stopped playing with her locket and looked back over at him, smiling back warmly. She stepped closer to him, lacing her arm through his as they continued on.  
  
'Grandma, could what you told me all those years ago be true?' she thought as she walked with Izzy. 'The first time's already happened. Could tonight be the second time? It would be a first for me. I guess we'll see.'  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Knowing it was her favorite kind of place, Izzy had dinner set at an Italian restaurant that had a very authentic atmosphere. They'd had a table all to themselves, lit only by a few candles on the wall and on their table. A wandering accordion player had even stopped by their table and played for them. It had been a little funny to both of them, but also rather romantic. By the time they emerged from the restaurant, the sun was beginning to set, coloring the sky a hundred different hues.  
  
"Want to walk through the park?" Sora asked, looking across the street at the expansive park.  
  
"That's just what I had in mind." Izzy said, looking at her curiously. "Are you reading my mind again?"  
  
"Well I am a woman after all, it's kind of an inborn gift." She joked back. "Besides, I don't know about you, but I could stand to walk off dinner a bit. That was a lot of food."  
  
"Agreed. You know, we seem to do this sort of thing a lot together, don't we?"  
  
"There's no better way to be alone." Sora said, hugging his arm a bit.  
  
"I couldn't agree more." Izzy said with a smile  
  
The couple quickly jogged across the street, hand in hand, and entered the park. Autumn was indeed in full swing, and the park showed it. The myriad of trees had changed their colors from green to a mixture of yellow, orange, and red. Fallen leaves littered both the grass and the paths, and in the crisp, evening air there was that familiar scent that let everyone know it was indeed autumn.  
  
"I always loved this time of year." Izzy said, breathing in deeply the scent in the air.  
  
"More of an excuse to stay in and play away on your computer?" Sora joked.  
  
"Nah, that's what winter is for." Izzy replied, smirking at her. "I just like the colors, and the fact that it's not so hot anymore. Most of all, because when I was younger it was a sure sign that Halloween was just around the corner."  
  
"I remember you used to always get so excited about Halloween, too. Remember that one year you, me and Tai all went as Galaxy Rangers?"  
  
"Yeah, that was a great year. We even rehearsed the poses!"  
  
Izzy quickly jumped in front of Sora, striking an exaggerated martial arts pose as he crouched a little. Sora quickly joined in, striking the pose she remembered from so long ago. Both of them looked at each other after a moment and quickly lost their composure, laughing out loud as they continued walking along.  
  
"Though I do remember we got extra candy that year thanks to our act." Sora said, after managing to catch her breath. "Even with as silly as it was."  
  
"But the candy wasn't why I liked Halloween so much." Izzy added. Sora stopped and looked at him strangely.  
  
"So why did you?"  
  
Izzy stopped walking as well, facing her as he summoned the will to tell her one of his more closely guarded secrets.  
  
"Halloween was the one time of year that it didn't matter who you were, what you looked like, or how you acted. Everyone would just cut loose and be whoever they wanted to be, and nobody thought twice about it. I could be the person I really wanted to be for one whole night, and for those few hours that I roamed around with you and Tai and got candy and played with other kids, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that I was a nerdy computer geek who talked funny and thought of weird things. I was a part of things. It was almost better than Christmas for me."  
  
"Izzy, why didn't you ever tell anyone all of this?" Sora asked, stepping up to him.  
  
"Historically I've been terrible at expressing my thoughts and ideas. I mean really, Sora, you remember how I used to be. I had to go into a ten- minute dissertation just to explain what I thought was a simple concept. How could I possibly say how I felt when anytime I talked people just stared at me blankly?"  
  
"It wasn't for lack of understanding, Izzy. We were all just amazed that you were able to figure out things that none of us had even a clue about! You're a brilliant man, Izzy. Don't ever downplay that."  
  
"Thanks Sora. It means a lot to hear all that, especially from you."  
  
"And thank you, Izzy. You really must trust me if you're willing to share secrets like that with me."  
  
"Sora I'd...I mean if I just knew..."  
  
Izzy searched for the courage to say what was on his mind and in his heart, but was coming up short. Finally, seeing his quandary, Sora took his hands in hers and looked him squarely in the eyes.  
  
"What do you want to say, Izzy? Whatever it is, I'll listen." She told him softly. With those words, Izzy found the courage to say what he meant to.  
  
"Sora, I feel like I could share everything with you. I mean, how could I not feel like that about the one that I think...I'm falling for?"  
  
Sora felt her heart rate jump at Izzy's confession. Likewise, Izzy felt nothing but butterflies in his stomach, praying inwardly that he hadn't screwed up completely. As they looked at each other wordlessly, the massive fountain in the middle of the park came to life, its display of water spouts catching and reflecting the setting sunlight.  
  
'No more hesitation, Sora.' Sora thought to herself. 'He's shared a part of himself with you. It's your turn now. Here goes...'  
  
"I searched for this locket for a reason." She said carefully, looking down at it, but not letting go of Izzy's hands. "It's a keepsake from my grandmother who passed away a few years ago. She gave it to me when she said I was on the verge of becoming a young woman. It hasn't opened in many years, something is wrong with the lock, but that's not so important as what she told me.  
  
"She said that...there are only three times you really kiss someone in your life." Sora looked back up, her heart racing as she met his eyes again. "The first time you really kiss someone, it's a sure sign that you care about them. The second time means you're falling in love with them. And the third time is when you know...that you can never let them go.  
  
"So far in my life, as I can remember, I've only ever experienced what the first time feels like, and it's happened twice."  
  
"T-Twice?" Izzy repeated, trying to keep his cool.  
  
"Once with Yamato...and then once with you." She said, smiling at him a bit sheepishly. "I felt it when we kissed during the storm a few weeks back."  
  
"I-I'm honored, Sora...really."  
  
Sora shushed him, similarly to how she had on that same stormy night. She stepped up close to him, their bodies just barely touching.  
  
"But now, I think...well, saying it just won't do." She said, sliding her arms around him. "There's only one way for me to know for sure."  
  
The kiss that followed made both of them feel like their hearts were going to explode. The kiss quickly turned passionate. Sora pressed herself up against Izzy trying to get as close to him as possible while they kissed. Their tongues played with each other's as their hands met at their sides, their fingers intertwining. They lingered on one last kiss before they separated, looking into each other's eyes once again.  
  
"Now I know for sure...that was the second time, and you're the first that I've ever felt like this with, Izzy." Sora said, smiling warmly at him again. "I'm falling in love with you."  
  
"And I with you, Sora." Izzy replied, smiling back at her. "But this still doesn't change the fact that I'm your friend before all else." Sora laughed a bit at his comment.  
  
"I'd be worried if that ever changed. Well, want to keep walking with your girlfriend?"  
  
"I'd like nothing better."  
  
Izzy took her hand in his and began to lead her towards the fountain, only to stop after a little while, looking over a ways and chuckling to himself.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Looks like we're not the only ones that picked this place for a romantic walk."  
  
Izzy pointed over a ways, and Sora looked in that direction. Over on the other side of the fountain, there were TK and Yolei, in each other's arms and kissing. Sora giggled to herself a bit and tugged on Izzy's arm, getting him to go with her over by them. They stayed out of range until the two finally stopped kissing and then stepped up.  
  
"Woohoo! Hot couple there!" Sora called out at them. Izzy groaned inwardly, rolling his eyes. TK and Yolei looked around a bit, finally spotting them. Both of them went red in the face and separated, standing next to each other as Sora and Izzy approached them.  
  
"Oh please, go back to what you were doing before." Sora teased. Izzy bumped her a bit playfully, and she got the point.  
  
"Thanks for the advice, Sora." TK said after a moment, seeing that they meant well. "We've spent a lot of time talking about stuff. And I think we've found that we have more in common than we ever thought."  
  
"Good for you guys." Sora said, smiling at them.  
  
"And I think we've found that we like each other quite a bit, too." Yolei added. "But I guess you guys figured that much out from before."  
  
"Well we wish you both nothing but the best." Izzy said, shaking TK's hand. Yolei hugged both Izzy and Sora, thanking them both for their help.  
  
"Well, we've got a date to get back to. And I assume you guys do as well." TK said. "Have fun!"  
  
"You guys too!" Sora called out as the two couples continued on their separate paths.  
  
"Too bad we have to head back to school tomorrow. I kinda wanted to know how everything turned out." Izzy said after they were well on their way.  
  
"We'll be off for winter break before too long, I'm sure they'll all want to fill us in then." Sora said. "Besides, I think we've turned things upside down just enough that they'd rather we got out of their hair again for a while."  
  
"Sounds good to me. So, any other ideas of things you'd like to do? The night is young, after all."  
  
"Hmm, a little fun might be in order if you ask me. Go-carts?"  
  
"You got it."  
  
"But let's not go right away, Izzy." Sora took his hand in hers again, bumping into him playfully like he'd done to her earlier. "Right now I'm really just having a good time walking in the park with my boyfriend."  
  
Izzy didn't need to hear any more, and they continued walking about the park for some time, both of them still amazed at how far things had come so far, and wondering just how much farther they were destined to go. 


	11. A Pinch of Conversation

A Pinch of Conversation  
  
"...and that brings things up to date." Sora said, finishing her story about autumn break with Emi. Emi, for her part, was having a hard time containing her excitement over it all.  
  
"I knew you two would get together! You just needed a bit of a push in the right direction!" she said, bouncing in her seat a little.  
  
"Yeah, I still haven't had a chance to talk to you about that by the way!"  
  
"Oh come on, Sora! If I hadn't plotted to get you two alone you would still be stealing glances at each other like two junior high kids."  
  
"It would've happened on its own! Eventually!"  
  
"Right. Keep telling yourself that, Sora."  
  
"You can be exasperating at times, you know that?"  
  
"I pride myself on it!" Emi said, putting on her best cheesy grin for her friend. "So give me some good details now! Is he a good kisser?"  
  
"You're incorrigible!"  
  
"Get used to it. Is he at least better than Matt was at kissing?"  
  
"It's not like that at all. It's...completely different." Sora said, lying back onto her bed. "Whenever Matt kissed me, it was nice. He was very good at it, but I could always tell that he was kissing me because he wanted something else. Only on a rare occasion did I ever really feel anything special when he kissed me."  
  
"And Izzy is different?"  
  
"When I kiss Izzy, I can tell that it still catches him by surprise. It's like he has no expectations from me at all. When he does kiss me back, I can sense what he must feel about me through it, and it makes me feel special knowing that someone feels for me like that."  
  
"Sounds like it's love to me, Sora." Emi said as she continued folding her clothes. "So when are you two going to want some private time?"  
  
"Not any time soon, Emi. I'm not rushing this at all. Besides, Izzy's..."  
  
"Don't even tell me he's still a virgin!"  
  
"Emi, Rei was the first girl he ever kissed, and you remember how long that lasted! You tell me what the next logical deduction is."  
  
"You know that for a fact?"  
  
"He swears it's true, and I have a hard time not believing him."  
  
"Wow. That's really rare anymore."  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
"But you have thought about it, right?"  
  
"I have, a couple of times now. And as tempting as it is, I don't want to take that step with him until he's ready. Matt and I were in too much of a hurry to have a serious relationship. Sex changes everything in a relationship, and I think it's one of the reasons why things fell apart between him and I."  
  
"When was your first time, if I might ask?"  
  
"We were both 17, still in high school. We just couldn't wait any longer to move our relationship forward. In hindsight, it was the worst mistake we ever made. I don't want to hurry things anymore."  
  
"Well still, you should start talking to Izzy about it. It's as much his decision as it is yours after all."  
  
"Just one problem with that." Sora said, sighing heavily. "I have no idea how he'd react to being asked about having sex with me."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy hacked, coughed and wheezed a bit as he gasped for air after accidentally letting his soda go down wrong. Hiroshi gave him a couple of pats on the back, and it seemed to help him out. A few minutes later, he finally recovered, but was still catching his breath.  
  
"Sorry about that, man. I didn't think you'd react like that." Hiroshi said, taking his seat again.  
  
"Don't sweat it." Izzy said, gulping in air. "But me and Sora? Sex? You're kidding, right?"  
  
"You two are together now, right? It kinda comes with the territory, man."  
  
"Yeah, well this is all new territory to me if you catch my meaning."  
  
"Whatever, man..." Hiroshi said with a chuckle. He started to eat again, and then it dawned on him what Izzy meant. He dropped his fork and looked up at Izzy in disbelief. "You're joking..."  
  
"Rei was the first girl I ever kissed. And Sora's the first I've ever been serious about, Hiroshi."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me...!"  
  
"It's no joke, Hiroshi. I've never...well, you know!"  
  
"Holy hell. Well have you at least..."  
  
"Could we please not have this conversation in the middle of the damn cafeteria?"  
  
"Heh heh, sorry Izzy. But still, I would've thought you'd had someone before now."  
  
"Well, you learn something every day." Izzy said, getting back to his lunch.  
  
"Hey, don't be bitter about it. I'm not making fun of you about it. In fact, it's pretty admirable."  
  
"How do you figure?" Izzy asked, gulping down some rice.  
  
"Most guys are all fixated on sex. I know I have a hard time not thinking about it often, and it's not like we aren't assailed with it on TV and stuff every day. Guys like you might have been considered 'geeks' or 'losers' in high school, but to have that kind of discipline and restraint for so long is pretty cool."  
  
"Don't overestimate me, Hiroshi. I'd say I still qualify as a geek, and a part-time loser."  
  
"I guarantee you Sora doesn't feel that way about you."  
  
"I know. I'm still in awe of my supreme luck to be with her."  
  
"Do you honestly think luck had anything to do with it? You came here and have done nothing but treat her with the utmost caring and respect after she went through probably the messiest break up I've ever seen. How could she not fall for you?"  
  
"I guess you might have a point, but there's no way I'm going to even mention sex with her yet."  
  
"Why not? It's clear you've thought about it."  
  
"Thinking and doing are worlds apart for me, Hiroshi. Just trust me on that one. Besides, it's just not the right time for us yet. We're close, but I want to be closer to her before we consider taking that step."  
  
"I can respect that. Emi and I took a while to get to that point as well."  
  
"Does it really change things as much as people say?"  
  
"It does change your relationship some, yes Izzy." Hiroshi said, finishing his lunch. "Something as personal and intimate as sex can't help but change the nature of a relationship, for better or worse. I usually don't give advice on stuff like this, but I will tell you this much: make sure you love your partner, and make sure they love you back just as much. In my opinion, that was her mistake with Matt."  
  
"Thanks for the advice, Hiroshi. I'll take it to heart." Izzy said. He finished his lunch and got up, slinging his backpack over one shoulder.  
  
"My pleasure. Hey, meet me at The Circuit Breaker later on for some pool. I wanna talk to you some more about stuff."  
  
Izzy just nodded as he carried his things to the wash counter, wondering just what else Hiroshi had to talk to him about.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"Emi, can't you leave well enough alone?" Sora asked, indicating her frustration to her roommate.  
  
"Not when I'm not convinced it's well enough to leave alone." Emi replied. "You really should talk to him about it soon."  
  
"Why can't I just let things happen as they will? Isn't that good enough? He'll let me know when he's ready."  
  
"Damn it, Sora, don't you get it yet? You're doing it again!"  
  
Emi stood up and shut their door, leaning back against it as Sora watched her, her brow furrowing as she wondered what Emi meant.  
  
"What're you getting at?" Sora asked, rolling over onto her belly.  
  
"Your breakup with Matt was about 75% his fault, and the rest was yours for one major reason: you let things go. You let things just coast along and happen, and it all broke down because you didn't take an active role in your relationship. I guarantee if you do that again, you and Izzy will never go any further than you are right now. Relationships are a two-way street, Sora. It's not healthy to let things go otherwise."  
  
Sora chewed on her lower lip, pondering Emi's words as she walked back around to the side of the bed. She stepped up onto her bed, peeking up at Sora as she lay on her bed, lost in thought.  
  
"I'm not saying to just go and jump in the sack with him, Sora. But a healthy relationship has to have open communication. It can't be like a baby monitor, where things only get transmitted one way and all you do is react to them. Don't just assume he'll figure it out. Talk to Izzy, and figure it all out between the both of you."  
  
"I'll...I'll talk to him sometime soon, Emi. I promise." Sora said after a moment. "I don't know what to expect, but we'll work it out...together."  
  
"And all I ask is you just give me some kind of notice when you decide you're going to rock the Casbah."  
  
"Can we stop talking about sex now, please?!"  
  
"Okay, okay. I can tell you about what I did over break."  
  
"You mean you did something over break that didn't involve Hiroshi?"  
  
"Now who can't get their mind off of sex?" Emi asked, smirking at Sora. Sora flipped her off as she giggled madly, plopping down in her desk chair.  
  
"Actually, I have Izzy to thank for helping me find something new to do. He gave me some chat rooms to check out, and I found one that was English- only. I got a lot of good practice in, though everyone told me I was pretty fluent."  
  
"That's pretty cool. Make any new friends?"  
  
"Actually, yes. There was one person I struck up a conversation with who was very interesting."  
  
"Guy or gal?"  
  
"Gal. American for that matter. Her Japanese was perfect, and her English was every bit as good as mine! And some of the recipes I got from her were great, too. Though I think Rei would like talking to her, too. She's also interested in drama, although she's just a freshman at her college too."  
  
"Well that's pretty cool. I assume you're still in touch with her?"  
  
"Actually, I was just about to meet her online for some chatting. Wanna watch over my shoulder?"  
  
"Sure, just no English please." Sora said as she hopped down out of bed, stepping up behind Emi.  
  
"We've got to work on that." Emi noted as she started her chat program.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it!"  
  
Emi searched around for a few moments until she located her friend's screen name, which was "MT36457".  
  
"Not a very original screen name, is it?" Sora commented.  
  
"She tried a few other things, but she said they all reminded her of things she'd rather forget."  
  
"Hmm, I can appreciate that."  
  
Just then, MT36457 sent a message to Emi, and the chat was on.  
  
MT36457: Hey there Emi! Tried that cookie recipe yet?  
  
LoveTaco: Sure did. Hiroshi loved them. Got any more for me?  
  
MT36457: You bet! ^_^ V  
  
"What's with the 'V'?" Sora asked.  
  
"Oh, it's her own personal thing. She says it's a peace sign. She uses it all the time."  
  
'An American girl with perfect Japanese and English...actress...peace sign...? Get a grip, Sora. It's probably coincidence.' Sora thought to herself.  
  
LoveTaco: My roommate is here this time, BTW.  
  
What Sora saw on the screen next almost made her faint.  
  
MT36457: Ah, hello Emi's roommate! I'm Mimi! What's your name?  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
  
  
Shooting pool was one thing Izzy just couldn't get a handle on. Sure it was a game of angles and mathematics, but some mathematical applications were trickier than others to get the hang of. Still, he enjoyed shooting pool every now and again, even if he never won a game.  
  
"So you said you wanted to talk to me about something else?" Izzy asked as he took another shot, sinking the 12 ball. "Just please tell me it isn't more questioning about my nonexistent sex life."  
  
"Heh, no. I'm not that interested in what you and Sora do when you're alone." Hiroshi said, leaning on his pool cue. Izzy looked over at him as he tried to size up his next shot. He seemed much more nervous than he had been earlier that day. Hiroshi ran a hand back over his head, smoothing his hair out back to his ponytail. "No, this one is about me. I guess I'm actually just looking for advice is all."  
  
"What kind of advice?" Izzy took his next shot, just missing sinking the 15. Hiroshi circled the table, looking for a shot.  
  
"It's pertaining to Emi." He said, leaning down towards the table. He took a shot, but missed it badly. Izzy could tell something was on his mind.  
  
"Not that I'm the romance expert, but I'll help if I can. What's the problem?"  
  
"Oh, there's no problems. I'm completely in love with her, and she feels the same about me."  
  
"So what do you want my advice on?" Izzy leaned down, targeting the 15 ball.  
  
"I, uh...I think I want to ask her to marry me."  
  
Izzy stopped just short of making his shot, looking up at Hiroshi who was sitting down now. Izzy made his way over to him, sitting back against the pool table.  
  
"You love her that much?" he asked, leaning his pool cue against his shoulder.  
  
"I do. But I've got no kind of money to get her a good engagement ring. What should I do?"  
  
"Have you talked to your parents about it at all? Could they help out?"  
  
"I don't want to have to ask them for that kind of money, Izzy! They're putting me through school as it is!"  
  
"Well, what about a part-time job?"  
  
"That's what I've been thinking, but I know Emi would get suspicious. That's where I need your help. Think you could cover for me somehow while I'm working?"  
  
"I can try. I could say you're giving me tutoring in English, or things like that."  
  
"I'd owe you big time, Izzy."  
  
"Don't worry about it. And I'll keep this under wraps from Sora, too"  
  
"Thanks. I figure I should have the money I need by just before Christmas."  
  
"No prob. Hey, I think Emi's coming this way. Let's get back to the game."  
  
Sure enough, Hiroshi looked over and saw Emi approaching them, meeting him and giving him a kiss as Izzy went back to his shot.  
  
"How's it going guys?" she asked, taking a seat next to Hiroshi.  
  
"Izzy's actually winning for once." Hiroshi told her, watching Izzy sink the 15 ball. "How's everything with Sora?"  
  
"We had a good, long talk and I think everything will be cool. Although I've had my computer Shanghaied by Sora." Emi said disappointedly.  
  
"Oh? That's a first. What happened?"  
  
"Well, it turns out the girl I was chatting with over break is an old friend of hers who moved to America. She was saying that she wished you were..."  
  
Izzy putting his pool cue in her hands cut off Emi in mid sentence. He quickly waved goodbye to the two and headed out from The Circuit Breaker, running his way back to the dorms. He skipped the elevator and vaulted up the stairs as he made his way to Sora's room. The door was open, so he slipped in quietly, watching over Sora's shoulder.  
  
"Is it her?" he asked quietly so as not to startle her. Sora looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled. He could see streaks on her face where tears had fallen from her eyes, but he could tell they were tears of happiness.  
  
"Pull up a seat, Izzy. We've all got a lot of catching up to do."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
MT36457: I'm so sorry I lost touch with you guys! I can explain everything!  
  
LoveTaco: Hang onto the explanation until Izzy gets back. He was grabbing his laptop and coming back up to join in.  
  
MT36457: You really have to explain this to me sometime, you know.  
  
LoveTaco: What's to explain? Izzy's my boyfriend now, and I'm happier than I ever was with Matt.  
  
MT36457: He was just always so shy and reclusive is all.  
  
LoveTaco: We've been working on that a lot. He's opened up quite a bit since you last saw him. Hang on, he's getting set up right now.  
  
MT36457: Okay! ^_^ V  
  
** H4XX0RIZE has joined Private Chat Room 'Reunion' **  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Hey Mimi! How's life?  
  
MT36457: Better now that I finally found you guys again! What's with the weird screen name?  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Long story. It's in something called 'leetspeak'.  
  
MT36457: Sounds just geeky enough to be you. Though I'm glad some things never change.  
  
LoveTaco: Amen to that.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: LoveTaco? Where'd that one come from?  
  
LoveTaco: Hey, this is Emi's computer! Don't look at me!  
  
MT36457: She wouldn't tell me either, so let me know when you guys find out.  
  
LoveTaco: While we're on the subject, why the super bland screen name Mimi?  
  
MT36457: Heh, that goes along with my story a bit. Hope you guys are comfy, 'cause this is going to take a while.  
  
LoveTaco: I'm good.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Likewise.  
  
MT36457: After things finally settled down with the Digital World, I started trying to live a normal life here in the US. I hit the books and got my English up to snuff, although I still have problems saying some words, like "umbrella". I hate that word!  
  
LoveTaco: LOL, I can imagine.  
  
MT36457: Acting was still my dream, so once my English was good enough I started watching for opportunities. I joined my high school's drama club, and by my sophomore year I was in school productions.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Impressive!  
  
MT36457: Then when I was a junior in high school, there were auditions for a talent search show. I jumped at the opportunity. It all happened so fast that I have a hard time remembering what that year was like, but I ended up winning it and got a minor recurring role in a TV show over here. But that's when things started to just snowball for me. The next thing I knew, I was approached for a regular role in a drama series, which is still running. And after that came interviews, magazine articles, I even made Entertainment magazine's "IT" list last year.  
  
LoveTaco: And to think just a few years ago you were duking it out with us in the Digital World. Talk about a charmed life, Mims!  
  
MT36457: I wish I'd never left Japan.  
  
LoveTaco: What?!  
  
H4XX0RIZE: What?!  
  
MT36457: I hardly get a moment to myself anymore, guys! Everywhere I go people recognize me unless I try hard to disguise myself! And I went through a dozen e-mail accounts and chat screen names before this because I would get overloaded with chat requests and fan mail. And all of that isn't mentioning some of the freaks that have been after me!  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Freaks?  
  
MT36457: Paparazzi, stalkers, total weirdos...all of them trying to get some dirt on me, or catch a shot of me in some kind of provocative or lewd pose. I can't stand it! I'd rather be stranded in the Digital World than this!  
  
LoveTaco: But you're in college now, right?  
  
MT36457: Yeah, I managed to graduate high school just barely, and I got into a decent college. I haven't been able to make any friends over here, though. They all just clamor around me at once.  
  
LoveTaco: What about Michael?  
  
MT36457: I haven't seen him since his family moved away. We broke up shortly before then.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: One thing I don't understand: how did you find out last year about Sora and Matt's breakup? I didn't find out until I got here earlier this year.  
  
MT36457: Tai sent me a message from his Digivice. I still keep mine on me at all times. How did you not get contacted, Izzy?  
  
H4XX0RIZE: That's a story in itself for another time.  
  
MT36457: Seriously, guys, I don't know what to do anymore. I enjoy acting and all, but this life.it's suffocating me! Why can't I be a successful actress and have my own life?! And don't tell me the old "price of fame" crap story. I don't buy that at all.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Mimi, I don't know what we could possibly tell you. Neither of us has any experience with a problem like yours.  
  
LoveTaco: Emi said something about recipes to me before. What's that all about?  
  
MT36457: My one refuge from it all: cooking. As I've been finding out, I seem to have a real flair in the kitchen. I enjoy it, too. There's something about making good food that people can enjoy that is just ultimately satisfying to me.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Well, why not combine your two passions?  
  
MT36457: Cooking and acting? You're joking, right Izzy?  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Maybe you wouldn't be as incredibly famous as you seem to be right now, but you'd at least be doing what you like. That's all that's really important, isn't it?  
  
LoveTaco: Izzy's right, Mimi. Besides, isn't one of the most popular shows over there right now one of our cooking shows over here?  
  
MT36457: You mean Iron Chef? It is pretty popular. I watch it all the time myself.  
  
LoveTaco: Well there you go! I say go for it Mimi. If anyone I know could make it happen, you could.  
  
MT36457: Hmm, a double major in Drama and Culinary Arts.it'd be difficult, but it does sound fun. I'll try it!  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Good for you, Mimi! Best of luck, too!  
  
MT36457: Thank you both for helping me. You and the others really are the best friends I could ever ask for.  
  
LoveTaco: Any chance you might make it back to Japan sometime?  
  
MT36457: I have no idea, but the sky's the limit! I'll talk to you guys again soon, I promise!  
  
H4XX0RIZE: We'll look forward to it.  
  
MT36457: And next time you can tell me about you guys. And Sora, I want details on how good he is at kissing!  
  
LoveTaco: Mimi!!!!  
  
MT36457: It's a female imperative to ask your girlfriends about such things! Just ask Emi.  
  
LoveTaco: I don't need to, she's already given me the fifth degree about it all.  
  
H4XX0RIZE: Umm, I'm just going to sign off and take my laptop back down to my room. Later Mimi!  
  
MT36457: I get the point guys. Take it easy! ^_^ V  
  
LoveTaco: You too, Mims. You too.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy rejoined Sora in her room after taking his laptop back to his room. Sora was sitting on Emi's bed, so Izzy took a chair and sat opposite her.  
  
"It was great to get back in touch with her again." Izzy said, stretching out a bit.  
  
"Yeah. I hope she's okay, though. She did sound pretty overwhelmed." Sora added, scooting to the end of the bed. "Something you said stuck with me, though."  
  
"What would that be?"  
  
"That all that matters is that you do something you like."  
  
"It's true. Too many people get stuck doing things that they think they're supposed to be doing. People forget their dreams for the sake of stability and security. I'd rather take a chance and be doing what I have a passion for than just be moping through life at some miserable job that I didn't want to do."  
  
"I always thought I'd end up back home working at mom's flower shop, but now...I think I know what I want to do in life, and I'm going to give it a try."  
  
"That's great Sora! What is it?"  
  
"Let me show you something."  
  
Sora stood up and moved over to her desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a large sketchbook. She handed it to Izzy, who promptly opened it up and looked over the sketches. Inside were sketches of all sorts of clothing, from t-shirts and shorts to full dresses and suits.  
  
"Sora, this is amazing looking stuff! How long have you been doing this?" he asked, still flipping pages.  
  
"I took a class on basic clothing design during second semester last year. The stuff at the beginning was for the class. Everything else I've done on my own since then. But it's kind of like how cooking is to Mimi. There's a level of satisfaction I get out of it that I don't get anywhere else."  
  
"Why didn't you do anything about it until now?"  
  
"I thought it was just a silly hobby was all, but after seeing you turning your computer hobby into a real career, and with Mimi beginning to live her dream, I finally made my decision. I want to live my dreams, too."  
  
"I know you will, Sora. With as strong as you are, you'll do great."  
  
"Thanks for the support. I'll need all I can get, I figure."  
  
"I'll always be there for you."  
  
"I know you will, Izzy."  
  
Sora moved in to kiss him, but hesitated for a moment. Her conversation with Emi was still fresh in her mind, and she knew very well where things could lead at the moment. She gave Izzy a quick kiss and then sat back on Emi's bed.  
  
"Izzy, I...I think we need to talk. About us."  
  
"Yeah, I figured this was coming sooner or later." Izzy said, sitting up in his chair.  
  
"Izzy, I can't deny that I care about you very much anymore. Every day I feel like I'm falling a little more in love with you."  
  
"I feel the same way about you, Sora. Believe me."  
  
"I do, no worries there. But Izzy.there comes a time when a relationship has to take another step. When just saying 'I love you' isn't enough, and just holding each other and kissing doesn't cut it either. And that's when things.just change. Believe me, they do. I know from experience."  
  
"Yeah, I know." Izzy said, looking down a little.  
  
"It doesn't disappoint you, knowing that I've been with someone else before you, does it?"  
  
"Of course it doesn't. But at the same time, I know I have a lot to live up to, don't I?"  
  
"Izzy...don't think for a minute that I could ever compare you to Matt on any level." Sora said, reaching over and taking his hands in hers. "You are so much more to me than he ever was, it's hard to express in words sometimes. So don't worry about anything like that."  
  
"I just want to...you know...please you, Sora." Izzy managed to say, his face turning completely red with embarrassment at the subject.  
  
"We'll work that out together, so don't worry too much about it."  
  
"Can you give me some more time, Sora? I just don't think it's the right time yet."  
  
"Of course, Izzy."  
  
"It's not for lack of desire, believe me."  
  
"I know you have your reasons, Izzy. Just don't make me wait too long?"  
  
"You have my word, Sora."  
  
Sora pulled Izzy's hands up to her, kissing them lightly before letting them go. She then leaned forward a bit where she sat, her hands on her knees.  
  
"So, not for a lack of desire, eh?" she asked, dropping her voice a bit. She remembered that she used to put on her "sexy act" for Matt every now and again and it spiced things up, and she figured Izzy deserved a little sample of it. She noticed Izzy swallow hard as she came closer and closer to him.  
  
"Definitely not." He said after a moment. He swallowed a bit audibly at her advances.  
  
"Think you could handle just a little fun, then?" She stood up and straddled his lap, leaning down closer and closer to his face.  
  
"I think I could, yeah." Izzy put his hands at her sides, but Sora quickly pushed them down to her hips, smiling at him all the while.  
  
"After we burnt our break helping the others out, I figure we owe it to ourselves after all."  
  
"No arguments here."  
  
Sora kissed him hungrily, her tongue quickly finding his in his mouth. She felt him squeeze her at her hips gently and moaned into the kiss at the feeling. She ran her hands over his shoulders, squeezing and massaging gently as she kissed him. She broke off the kiss after several minutes, smiling seductively down at him.  
  
"Like?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Oh yeah..." Izzy replied, also quietly.  
  
"Good. Let's continue, but let's insure we're not interrupted."  
  
Sora got up quickly and grabbed her towel, hanging it on her doorknob. She closed and locked the door securely, and then quickly climbed up onto her top bunk.  
  
"Come and get me then." She said to him invitingly. Izzy had little experience climbing into a top bunk, but somehow managed to get up there quickly enough. The two then turned their attention away from the worries of the world and their friends and towards each other, their make out session lasting for quite some time. 


	12. A Glaze of Frost

A Glaze of Frost  
  
"So much for wondering if all year was going to be as easy as my first week." Izzy said as he picked his head up from his book.  
  
"Less talk, more read." Hiroshi told him, not looking up from his own book. It was finals time for the first semester, and the two had decided to study together at the library so as to maintain sanity and keep each other awake.  
  
"Ugh, no more. I have to take a break or my eyes will explode." Izzy said, dropping his book and rubbing his eyes. "Think we can still get some coffee from The Green Door?"  
  
"If it weren't 1 AM, yeah." Hiroshi said, still buried in his book.  
  
"Damn, it's that late? We should get some sleep."  
  
"You sleep. I gotta keep reading."  
  
"Hiroshi, get some rest already. You've been working your ass off between classes, finals, and trying to save up for that ring for Emi."  
  
"It's all paid off, though." Hiroshi finally set his book down for a moment, cracking a small smile. "With the paycheck I'll get on Friday, I'll have just enough."  
  
"That's great, man! And it's still a couple of weeks until Christmas, too!"  
  
"Seriously, Izzy, I owe you big time for helping me keep this under wraps."  
  
"If you want to help me, I could use some advice on a Christmas gift for Sora. I can't think of anything."  
  
"Hmm, are we going for 'sweet', 'thoughtful', or 'romantic'?" Hiroshi asked, reclining back in his chair.  
  
"What's the difference?"  
  
"See, it all depends on the effect you're going for. If you want her to think it's sweet of you, go for something like a plush animal. If you want her to think you're being thoughtful, you need something sentimental. Like something from your past, or childhood. As for romantic, which kinda speaks for itself if you as me, you need to figure that out yourself. You know your relationship with Sora better than me after all."  
  
"Hmm...that's a lot to choose from."  
  
"Sorry I can't be of more help, man."  
  
"No, actually I think I might just have an idea." Izzy said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, but no more thinking for tonight. Time to curl up in a nice, warm bed, emphasis on warm."  
  
"I hear that. It's pretty cold out there." Hiroshi added. "I am going to try and study some more, though."  
  
"See you tomorrow, Hiroshi. Take care."  
  
"Likewise, Izzy."  
  
Izzy buttoned up his coat and pulled his knit hat down securely on his head before heading out into the cold, bleak, dark night with his backpack. Winter weather had grasped the area quickly. A layer of snow lay on the ground, mixed with some ice here and there. Snow continued to blow by him, carried by bone chilling winds.  
  
'I hope Hiroshi gets back to the dorms before too much longer. This is pretty bad.' Izzy thought as he made his way through the elements. Some time later he arrived back at the dorms and started to open his coat. When he got his coat off, he suddenly found it to be almost as cold inside as it was outside.  
  
'What the heck's up with this? I thought they had the furnace on since last month? I'd better get up to my room and check e-mail. Maybe there's a notice of some kind.'  
  
Izzy took the elevator up to his floor, and moments later was bringing up his e-mail. Sure enough, there was a notification to everyone in his building.  
  
"The furnace is broken, and we don't anticipate being able to finish repairs on it for a day or two. Please make sure to dress warmly during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience." He said, reading the message aloud to himself. Shinnosuke had finished his finals early and was already gone back home, so Izzy had their dorm room to himself. He pushed away from his desk, shaking his head. "Prodigious. So I get to freeze to death for two more days while trying to finish up my finals. I hope the girls upstairs are keeping warm." _ _ _ _ _  
  
"Sora?" Emi said as she huddled up under her blankets.  
  
"Yeah?" Sora replied, trying to do the same.  
  
"Have you been able to sleep yet?"  
  
"Does it sound like it? How about you?'  
  
"N-n-no..."  
  
"This is crazy!" Sora said in frustration. She hopped down out of bed, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and grabbed her duster sweater, pulling it on. "I'm going to see if Izzy's back yet."  
  
"Sora, it's 1:30 in the morning. Just try and get some sleep." Emi said in a semi-conscious daze.  
  
"I want to make sure he got back okay and is staying warm is all. I'll be back in a little."  
  
Sora closed the door behind her and headed down to Izzy's room. She went to knock on the door, only to find it still partially open. Peeking in, she saw Izzy slumped over in front of his computer, nodding back and forth in his chair. He was dressed for sleep in a thick t-shirt and sweatpants, but he'd never made it into bed. She sighed inwardly as she entered the room, moving over to him. She squeezed his shoulder gently, causing him to wake up.  
  
"Huh? Wha...Sora? What time is it?" Izzy asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Late. Really late. You okay?" Sora asked in a soft tone.  
  
"Aside from it being as cold as the eighth layer of Hell? I'm fine." Izzy breathed into his hands and then folded his arms, trying to warm his hands.  
  
"It's not much better upstairs. Emi and I can't sleep it's so cold."  
  
"You want an extra blanket? You can have mine."  
  
"Izzy! How will you sleep, then?"  
  
"I'm not planning on sleeping, not with it being this cold."  
  
"I will not accept that. You need sleep if you're going to handle finals."  
  
"Well, do you have any better ideas?"  
  
"Hmm...as a matter of fact, I do."  
  
Sora quickly headed back up to her room, returning with a pillow and two blankets. She closed Izzy's door behind her.  
  
"I'm not following your plan, Sora." Izzy said, completely mystified. Sora smiled at him as she tossed her pillow and the blankets onto his bed.  
  
"Let's sleep together." She said simply. Izzy fell out of his chair.  
  
"Sora...I-I-I...I don't know. I mean, I don't know if we're ready to."  
  
"Izzy, did I say let's have sex? No, I said let's sleep together."  
  
"Won't it be kind of cramped?"  
  
"Maybe, but at least we'll be warmer."  
  
Izzy finally gave in to Sora's logic and locked his door while Sora straightened out the blankets on the bed. Izzy climbed in first, sliding up against the wall. Sora slipped in right next to him, pressing herself up closely to him after she pulled the covers up around them.  
  
"Mmm...this is much warmer, and nicer." She said, resting her head on her pillow.  
  
"I have to agree." Izzy replied as she slid one arm around her. Sora smiled and closed her eyes as they began kissing. Sora felt his tongue meet hers quickly and moaned lightly into the kiss.  
  
'Izzy has gotten quite a bit more daring. Let's see just how far I can take this. This should be fun!' she thought, giggling inwardly. She slid her free hand down his side, down to his rear. She squeezed him gently, which got a quick rise out of him. Both of them couldn't help but laugh for a moment, but went right back to kissing. As Sora kept up her actions, she felt Izzy's hand sliding up her side slowly, almost hesitantly. She felt like her heart had jumped up into her throat, but she kept kissing him. Finally, she felt him cup her right breast in his hand, massaging gently. She broke off the kiss as she moaned a bit more audibly.  
  
"You don't mind, do you Sora?" Izzy asked quietly, pausing for a moment.  
  
"I've been waiting for something like this for so long, Izzy...it feels very nice. But let me help you out a little." She said, her voice breathy. She took hold of his hand and dragged it back down her side, only to slip it underneath her shirt and back up to her breast. Izzy felt his hand touch her soft skin and realized she wasn't wearing a bra. As he started his actions again, Sora moaned even more.  
  
"Even better...Izzy..." she said, moaning as he played with her. They kissed again, both losing themselves in the intimacy of their moment. After a couple of minutes, Izzy finally slowed down, sliding his hand back out from underneath her shirt.  
  
"I, uh...I'd better stop before...you know, before I get too carried away." He said sheepishly.  
  
"At this point, I really wouldn't mind if you did get carried away Izzy." Sora said, chuckling a little. "That was nicer than I can describe. Are you sure you've never...?"  
  
"Never. I just...I want it to be a little more romantic than this is all. Besides, it's a little too cold here right now."  
  
"Well if you ask me, this is pretty romantic anyways. Trapped by the cold, cuddling up next to each other for extra warmth, just letting our feelings for each other guide our actions..." Sora pulled herself up close to him again as she spoke. "All in all, it's pretty tempting to me, Izzy."  
  
"I'm not saying it isn't tempting to me either, Sora. But just believe me...I want it to be special for us both."  
  
"Ohhhh, planning something eh?"  
  
"Maybe. Not really. I don't know..." Izzy said, smiling as he was trying to be evasive.  
  
"I love surprises. Especially trying to figure them out. Care to share any clues?"  
  
"Now if I did that, it wouldn't be a surprise would it?"  
  
"Hmph." Sora said, feigning displeasure with him. "We'll see about that."  
  
"Sorry." Izzy said, smirking at her.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll get it out of you sooner or later." She winked at him. "You're right about the cold, though. We should get some sleep."  
  
After getting an agreeing nod from Izzy, Sora rolled onto her other side, sliding back against him. Almost instinctively, Izzy draped his arm over her side, pulling her right up against him. He let his arm hang there after she was comfortable.  
  
"Wow...so this is what this is like." She said, reveling in the newfound warmth. "Matt never did this with me. I love it."  
  
"Yeah, this is nice. I should listen to your ideas more often." Izzy added, beginning to drift off.  
  
"Well, good night Izzy."  
  
"G'night Sora. And Sora?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Izzy."  
  
Sora squeezed his hand a little and then let her eyes close slowly as sleep finally overcame them both. It would be the best night of sleep either of them had ever gotten.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy lifted his head from his pillow slowly as he awoke. He'd slept like a rock, and felt rather warm to boot. Sora was already up, and was on his computer checking her e-mail. She pulled her sweater around her a bit more as she tried to stay quiet.  
  
"Good morning." Izzy said after rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.  
  
"Oh, did I wake you up?" Sora asked, feeling self-conscious.  
  
"No, not at all. I woke up on my own. How long have you been up?"  
  
"Not long, just wanted to check and see if there was an update on the furnace. No such luck, though."  
  
"Wonderful. So what do you have today?"  
  
"No finals today, but tomorrow is my last one. You?"  
  
"I have my Economics final at noon, that's it today. Then tomorrow is my last final, first thing in the morning."  
  
"Gotcha. Well, I'll clear out so you can study some more."  
  
"Eh, I've studied as much as I can for it. If I see another econ textbook ever again, it'll be too soon."  
  
"I can appreciate that. So what do you want to do in the meantime?"  
  
"Well, for starters how about you come back over here and warm up again?"  
  
"Don't mind if I do!" Sora said, quickly getting back under the covers and huddling up against him. She felt a bit cold to the touch, so Izzy held her close to him as she shivered. She looked up at him after she finally got warm again.  
  
"As much as I like this, we can't stay like this all day you know." She told him.  
  
"Unfortunately, you're right. We should both get dressed, and get something to eat as well."  
  
"Hey, how about I fix us breakfast?"  
  
"Do you feel up to it?"  
  
"I know my way around a kitchen well enough. I've been getting some tips and recipes from Mimi over e-mail, too. Besides, working over a stove will at least be somewhat warm, and it beats trudging through the cold and snow for cafeteria food."  
  
"If you're sure, Sora."  
  
"You've done tons and tons for me so far, Izzy. It's my turn to do something for you, and you need a good meal to get you up and going for your econ final. Besides, I've always wanted to cook for someone."  
  
"Since you put it that way, how can I refuse?"  
  
Sora smiled warmly at him and hugged him tightly, sighing contentedly as he stroked her hair lightly.  
  
"I enjoyed last night a lot, you know. All of it." She told him.  
  
"We should have a repeat of it tonight, then. Especially since the furnace is still out." Izzy said, giving her a knowing smile. For once, Sora found herself blushing, but returned the smile with a quick peck on his cheek.  
  
"I'll look forward to that. But we should get moving."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Meet me downstairs in the kitchen."  
  
Izzy nodded as she left his room, and then set to picking out some warm clothes for the day. Meanwhile, Sora reached her room again and, after seeing that Emi was gone, quickly made her own preparations. She got changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt and tossed her duster sweater on over it. After doing the rest of her morning routine, she looked through the impromptu pantry she and Emi kept and gathered a few things from it and their mini-refrigerator. She stuffed what she could into her backpack and carried the rest downstairs with her, praying inwardly that she didn't screw anything up.  
  
Sora got down to the kitchen before Izzy and started setting everything up. Her plan was for pancakes and bacon, which she figured was simple enough to make and hearty enough that it should give Izzy the boost he needed to do well on his final. As she mixed up the batter, Izzy arrived and stepped up to the counter.  
  
"Pancakes?" he asked, looking over into her mixing bowl.  
  
"Yup. Hope you like 'em big, I use the whole skillet for just one." Sora told him. She stopped mixing for a moment to turn on one of the stove's burners and set a pan on it. "And by the way, if you're looking to help you can do so by taking a seat and waiting for it to be done."  
  
"Heh, so I'm that transparent?"  
  
"So much so that I don't even have to look at you to see through your intent." Sora said, smirking to herself as she went back to mixing the batter. Izzy just laughed to himself as he stepped away from the counter.  
  
"I think I'll check the TV in the common room, then. See if there's anything interesting on." He said, heading over to it.  
  
"I'll give you a holler when it's all ready!"  
  
Izzy hopped over the back of the couch, stretching out as he did so he landed on the couch already lying down. He snatched the remote from the table and flipped the TV on. Sora peeked in on him after a bit, while the bacon and her first pancake were cooking.  
  
'Doing this kind of stuff makes me feel so domestic!' she thought to herself. 'But it's for him, and I really don't mind at all. In fact, I'm kind of anxious to see if he likes what I make for him. I'd better keep my eye on it then.'  
  
Sora went back to the stove and tended to the food. Not too much later, everything was all set and she had the pans soaking in the sink.  
  
"Breakfast is ready!" she called out, setting the plates at the table. Izzy turned off the TV and made his way quickly to the table, eager for his first home cooked meal in weeks. Sora had to smirk as he sat down. "So it's true, then. The way to a man's heart is through the stomach."  
  
"Like you said once, at least I'm a normal guy in one sense." He replied, winking at her. He looked down at the food that sat in front of him. The pancake took up most of the plate, and was a perfect golden color. Just off to the side of it were three crispy strips of bacon. Izzy usually liked his bacon a little less done, but he wasn't one to argue, what with how good everything looked. Besides which, he knew Sora had put a lot of effort into the meal, and the last thing he wanted to do was criticize it. As a final touch, Sora set down a couple of glasses of milk for the both of them before sitting down in front of her own plate of food.  
  
"Well, I hope this turned out okay. Dig in!" Sora said, taking a sip from her milk.  
  
"Don't mind if I do!" Izzy replied, reaching for the butter and syrup to doctor up his pancake. The two ate mostly in silence, with Sora wondering how much Izzy liked her cooking and Izzy too engrossed in eating good food to even think about commenting on it. Finally, Izzy finished his last bit of milk and set his glass down, letting out a satisfied sigh.  
  
"That was incredibly good!" he said.  
  
"Really?" Sora asked, finishing another bite of her pancake.  
  
"Absolutely! Sora, believe me, you can cook for me anytime."  
  
Sora smiled, but felt herself blush at the compliment as she continued to eat her own breakfast. Inside, she was elated that he enjoyed eating it as much as she had enjoyed making it.  
  
After both of them had finished breakfast, Izzy helped with the dishes and once everything was put away they both went in front of the TV and relaxed together while flipping through the channels.  
  
"Things sure have turned out differently this year." Sora said as she stretched out a bit on the couch. "I certainly had different expectations for how this year was going to go when it began."  
  
"What did you think would happen?" Izzy asked, curious to hear her thoughts. Sora rolled her head back over the arm of the couch, looking up at the ceiling as she recalled everything.  
  
"By the time New Year's had rolled around, Matt and I were splitsville. I figured I'd drop out of college, move back home and end up working in the flower shop until I was an old, gray spinster. Thankfully, mom talked me out of dropping out pretty quickly. I don't know, I guess I was just prepared for misery is all. You have to admit, at the time I really didn't have much to be cheerful about. I certainly didn't think I'd be falling in love again any time soon. But now, not only do I think I know what I was doing wrong before, but I've come to terms with something, and I feel absolutely liberated by it."  
  
"Want to share what you figured out?" Izzy asked, turning to face her.  
  
"Put simply, I was in a hurry to fall in love." Sora told him, sitting up again. "I always felt it was so important to be in love and have someone that I went out of my way to try and make it happen for me. Even to the point of totally changing who I was or how I was acting so someone would like me like that. None of that ever lasted, or even panned out for that matter, and I ended up miserable.  
  
"What I discovered was that love isn't something you search for, or that you can even try to make happen. It just happens. It finds you at the strangest of times, in the strangest of places.and it happens with people that you never expected it to happen with for that matter."  
  
"And what was it that you came to terms with?" Izzy asked, his curiosity getting the better of him as usual.  
  
"That Matt and I would never have worked out. We would've been miserable together no matter what he or I did to try and fix things, and for a long time that's all we did was try and fix things. Mostly by having...er, um...well..."  
  
"Sora, I've long accepted that Matt had you long before I came along, so don't worry about it."  
  
"Right. Sorry about that. Well, that's pretty much it. I owe it all to you, though, Izzy. You've been there with me all along the way, I just didn't know what was sitting right in front of me."  
  
"I'd do it all again for you and then some, Sora. Anything for my best friend, and girlfriend."  
  
"And soon to be lover?" Sora added, her voice hopeful.  
  
"Soon enough." Izzy let out a laugh, nodding at her. Sora giggled at him and dove across the couch, tackling him in a hug. She looked back on the previous times that she thought she had been in love, but felt in her heart that for the first time ever she really was in love. _ _ _ _ _  
  
Izzy buried his head under another pillow as he tried to ignore the knocking at his door, hoping it would go away. Sora stirred next to him and looked up at the door.  
  
"You should see who it is." She told him quietly.  
  
"Can't we just wait for them to go away?" he asked, not wanting to deal with whoever it was. "It's 10:00 at night, and it's way too cold for visitors."  
  
"If you don't answer the door, I will."  
  
"Alright, alright."  
  
Izzy carefully got out of bed, trying not to squash Sora as he did. He wondered who in the world could be paying him a visit so late, and with more than half of the campus gone for winter break. He opened the door, and his surprise knew no end. Matt stood at his door, all bundled up in a heavy coat and scarf.  
  
"Matt? What're you doing here? What's up?" Izzy asked, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.  
  
"Aw geez, sorry Izzy. I thought you'd be awake for sure. Sorry about that." Matt said apologetically.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I, uh...I wasn't quite asleep yet anyways."  
  
"Mind if I come in for a minute?"  
  
"Um, actually yes."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I, well...I kinda have, um, company is all."  
  
"Izzy? Who is it?" Sora asked from inside. She pulled her duster sweater closely around herself as she stepped up behind him. Izzy bit his lower lip, knowing this did not look good. Sora stopped when she saw Matt and cursed inwardly, wishing she hadn't gotten up. She put on as good a cheery face as she could, though. "Heh heh, hi Matt."  
  
"Don't worry guys, I know you two are together." Matt said, chuckling a little.  
  
"How'd you find out?" Izzy asked, leaning against his door's frame.  
  
"After autumn break I got an e-mail from TK. In it he told me about how he's seeing Yolei now, and all about you two for that matter."  
  
"Matt, please believe me, this was not my intent to begin with when we talked that day."  
  
"Izzy, don't worry about it. Sora and I cleared everything up when we talked months back. You two have my full blessing." Matt said, smiling at the couple. "Besides, you look good together, and I like seeing my best friends happy."  
  
"Well, you didn't come out here to compliment us all night, did you?" Izzy asked, smiling back at his friend as he folded his arms.  
  
"I was kinda hoping I could hitch a ride with you guys back home after our finals are done tomorrow. Dad can't make it out, and everyone else I know has already bailed."  
  
"What about Jun?" Sora asked. Matt rolled his eyes, and made a disgusted sound at the mention of her name.  
  
"She ditched me right after I decided to clean myself up. All the better for me. She wasn't exactly a positive influence on my life."  
  
"Well, I don't mind so long as Izzy's cool with it." Sora said.  
  
"It's her car, so I defer to her judgment." Izzy added.  
  
"I owe you guys, big time. Thanks!" Matt said, celebrating inwardly. "Well, I'll let you two get back to, um...business. Later!"  
  
Izzy tried to explain their situation to Matt as he ran off down the hall, but gave up when he figured Matt was out of range. He sighed and turned back to Sora, shrugging.  
  
"Let him believe what he wants." Sora told him, smiling at him, adding in thought, 'No matter how much I wish it were actually true.'  
  
"Yeah, there's no harm in it." Izzy said, closing the door and jumping back into bed. "Besides, it might just be reality in the near future."  
  
Sora shed her sweater and quickly slipped back into bed, moving up close to him. She laid back on her back, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Do you mean it, Izzy?" she asked. "I mean, it's not because of anything I said or did, is it?"  
  
"Nothing of the sort, I decided this on my own. It won't be tonight, it's still way too cold. But soon."  
  
"I believe you, Izzy. And even as much as it almost hurts for me to not have you yet, I can wait."  
  
"Hmm...well, is there anything I can do to help lessen that pain right now?" Izzy asked, looking down at her as he leaned over her.  
  
"Well now, someone sounds a little more daring." Sora said, tracing her fingers up and down his arms, which were on either side of her. "How far do you think you want to go?"  
  
"If you follow my lead, you'll get to see." Izzy said, leaning down and kissing her briefly. Sora smiled inwardly as they started into the same things they had done to each other the previous night. They would spend a good deal of that night beginning to explore each other, and the breadth of their ever-increasing love for each other. 


	13. A Slice of Life

A Slice of Life  
  
'No matter how much he's changed, one thing has stayed the same.' Sora thought as she drove along towards Odaiba. Another loud snore made her grumble as she looked briefly at the backseat of her car. Matt was stretched out on it, sleeping away, and snoring away. 'Matt still snores loud enough to violate city noise ordinances. And me without a roll of duct tape.'  
  
Sora shook her head and looked over for a moment to her passenger seat, her expression quickly softening. Izzy was deeply engrossed in a book of his, though he kept nodding off and snapping back awake. He smiled over at her as he tried to shake off his sleepiness.  
  
"Get some sleep, Izzy. We'll be home before you know it." She told him.  
  
"And leave you alone to have to deal with the lumberjack contest that Matt is apparently participating in back there? I don't think so." Izzy commented as he looked back where Matt was sleeping. "Was he always like this?"  
  
"No, he used to be louder. He must be sleeping better these days."  
  
"So how did you put up with it?'  
  
"Hey, I said we used to have a lot of sex. I never said we slept together that much."  
  
"Right. I keep forgetting that you like to make that distinction."  
  
"Oh, I thought I'd let you know, I've got your Christmas present all lined up."  
  
"Same here. I think you'll like it quite a bit."  
  
"It's not electronic, is it?" Sora asked suspiciously.  
  
"It doesn't have so much as one circuit to it." Izzy said with a laugh.  
  
"That's a relief. Knowing me I'd probably break it if it were something like that. For that matter, I hope it isn't breakable! Oh, it isn't fragile is it?"  
  
"Heh, no. Not really."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, I'd tell you more but it'd give it away. Just trust me, Sora. It's not really breakable. I just hope you like it is all."  
  
"If it's coming from you, Izzy, I know I'll love it."  
  
Izzy smiled back at her as he relaxed in his seat, watching the snow- covered landscapes fly by as they continued on their way home. It was a pleasant trip home, Matt's snoring notwithstanding.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"Man, things look so different to me now." Matt said as the car continued through Odaiba. He had woken up a little while ago, when they were nearing the city.  
  
"It hasn't changed that much." Izzy said, looking around.  
  
"Still, this is my first time home in a while. I didn't come back over autumn break, remember?"  
  
"What were you doing, then?" Sora asked as she made a turn.  
  
"Studying, and doing catch up work mostly. I still can't believe how much I slacked off to begin with."  
  
"But you're back on track now, right?" Izzy asked.  
  
"I might have to take some classes over the summer to meet some requirements, but more or less yeah I'm back."  
  
"Okay, that's enough of talking shop for now guys. We're out of school for three weeks here, and I don't even want to think about schoolwork." Sora told them both.  
  
"I hear that." Matt said, sitting back again. "But the town does look different to me now. The shops look a little more lively, the people look happier..."  
  
Matt stopped in mid-sentence as he looked out his window as they passed the park. He rubbed his eyes and tried to get a better look at the scene.  
  
"...and then there's the stage, sound set and camera crew setup in the park." He added.  
  
Izzy looked out his window and saw the same scene that Matt had described. Crowds of people were gathered around the fences, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on.  
  
"I wonder what that's all about?" he asked, sitting back in his seat.  
  
"Let's find out." Sora said as she pulled her car into a parking spot. "You guys don't mind, do you?"  
  
"I'm in no hurry." Izzy said. "Matt?"  
  
"TK can wait a little longer. Let's check it."  
  
A few minutes later, the three of them were trying to weed through the small crowd to get up to the fence. After several tries, the three walked over away from the crowd and tried to get a view from another portion of the fence.  
  
"See anything?" Sora asked as she tried to peer through the trees.  
  
"Nothing. Why'd those people in the crowd have to be so rude?" Izzy said, expressing his annoyance at them.  
  
"It must be someone famous. I remember crowds like that from when the band was hot. They're the most ill-mannered sort you'll ever come across." Matt said with disgust.  
  
"You can say that again." A fourth voice chimed in. Sora, Izzy and Matt turned to face where the voice had come from, only to be greeted by an extremely familiar young woman with long brown hair and a cowboy hat on her head.  
  
"Mimi!" all three of them said in amazement. Mimi smiled brightly and hugged each of them in turn, delighted to see her friends once again.  
  
"So what're you doing in town, Mimi?" Izzy asked.  
  
"I signed on to be part of a live international Christmas program for TV, and they decided to send me back here for it."  
  
"Mimi, that's great!" Sora said, hugging her longtime friend again.  
  
"Tell me about it. I'm absolutely excited about it. Hey, why don't you guys join me on stage?"  
  
"Us?"  
  
"Yeah! It's more or less just going to be a big party anyways, just televised. Come on guys! You don't want me to be bored stiff up there all alone, do you?"  
  
"We'll be happy to be there, Mimi." Matt finally said, speaking for all of them. "We should see if we can get some of the others to be there too."  
  
"Are you sure, Matt? You haven't been on a stage since..." Sora began to say.  
  
"I'll be fine, Sora. Especially if everyone else is there." Matt said, cutting her off.  
  
"Say Matt, do you have some free time?" Mimi asked, stepping over to him.  
  
"Huh? Well Sora and Izzy were giving me a ride home, and I was going to check in with TK as well..."  
  
"I'll get you a ride. Let's go get some lunch, shall we?"  
  
Matt just shrugged at Izzy and Sora and headed off with Mimi, who winked back at the pair as she walked off with him.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that Mimi has other plans for Matt while she's here?" Izzy said, watching them walk off.  
  
"I think they'd be cute together. And it's good to see him moving on, too." Sora said. "It gives me a real sense of finality to all that happened between him and I."  
  
"Well, we should at least drop off his bag at his place. Then what would you like to do?"  
  
"Take a big, fat nap. Driving makes me sleepy." Sora yawned and stretched after she spoke, trying to shake off the grogginess.  
  
"How about a cup of coffee before that? I don't want you nodding off behind the wheel."  
  
"Stellar plan. Lead the way!"  
  
Izzy took her hand in his as they made their way past the park to the coffee shop. It wasn't exactly The Green Door, but it would have to do for two young people who were not only falling in love, but who were great friends.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Sora's mother stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen to her living room, her arms folded as she looked at the scene on the couch. The TV was still on, but Sora had fallen asleep in Izzy's arms on the couch. They looked supremely comfortable together, and that thought alone warmed her heart. It was two days before Christmas, and Sora and Izzy had been spending all of their free time together or with their friends. She smiled, comfortable with her feeling that her daughter had finally found love at last. She quietly stepped over to Sora and woke her as gently as possible.  
  
"Sora, dear?" she said as her daughter picked her head up.  
  
"Hm? Mom? What time is it?" Sora asked as she shook her sleepiness off.  
  
"Don't worry, it's only about 5:00 in the afternoon." Her mother said as she slipper her coat on. "I have to go to the train station, but I should be back in a couple of hours."  
  
"The train station? Why?" Sora asked as she sat up, careful not to wake Izzy.  
  
"Because your father is coming home for Christmas."  
  
"Really?" Sora's eyes lit up. Her mother just nodded. Sora got up quickly and hugged her mother tightly. "Does he know about..."  
  
"I figure you'll both have plenty of time to fill him in. You two take it easy, and I should be back before too long."  
  
Sora nodded and waved to her mother as she departed the apartment. Once she was gone, Sora began silently rejoicing that her father would be home for the holidays. She sat back down on the couch after a moment, looking over at Izzy. Izzy stirred a little and opened one eye, looking around.  
  
"Huh? Where'd your mom go?" he asked as he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.  
  
"My dad's coming home for Christmas! She went to go pick him up!" Sora told him excitedly. She just about vaulted to the other side of the couch, wrapping her arms around him.  
  
"Sora, that's great! Now Christmas will really be something special for you."  
  
"I don't know if I could possibly be happier right now, Izzy."  
  
"Hearing that does my heart good."  
  
Sora smiled at him, only to get lost in his eyes as he looked down at her. She slid up a bit more and kissed him gently as she felt his arms go around her. Things intensified quickly as they started kissing each other more and more passionately. Izzy's hands ran all up and down her back as her hands slipped between them both, running over his chest and up and down his sides.  
  
They broke off their kissing for a moment to just stare into each other's eyes. Amid the haze of the moment, Sora felt his hand brush her cheek gently as she saw him nod at her. She nodded back to him and stood up, taking him by the hand and leading him back to her room. Once inside, she closed and locked her door, turning back to him.  
  
"Do you have any, um...protection?" Izzy asked nervously.  
  
"Yes, but you wouldn't really need it, Izzy." Sora told him as she turned on a couple of lamps, dimly lighting the room. She approached him slowly, almost sauntering up to him. "I've been on the pill for a few years now."  
  
"Oh. W-w-well...just this first time, I'd like to be as safe as possible. Is that okay?" Izzy felt his heartbeat in his throat.  
  
"It's not only okay, it tells me that you really must love me if you want to be that careful Izzy."  
  
"With all my heart, I do love you Sora."  
  
"And I love you just as much." She said as she started to unbutton his shirt. "But we're both beyond the point where mere words can express our love."  
  
"I find it hard to disagree..." Izzy said, reaching up and starting to undo her pants.  
  
"Then let's stop talking and show each other...just how much we love each other."  
  
Sora kissed him again as they continued to shed their inhibitions and clothing, and somewhere amidst it all she felt what her grandmother had described to her so many years ago as being that third kiss. She knew now that Izzy would be in her heart now and always.  
  
Some time later, Sora lay snuggled up against Izzy, their bare bodies still cooling down from their first lovemaking. She stretched one arm over him as he put an arm around her.  
  
"So was that my Christmas gift?" she asked with a half-smile. "Or should I just consider that a stocking stuffer?"  
  
"Call it whatever you want, but it certainly was pleasant, wasn't it?" Izzy said after chuckling a bit. "Now wasn't that worth waiting for?"  
  
"Oh, most certainly. But like I said before, I'm on the pill. So next time, we should try it without the condom, eh?"  
  
"If you're sure, Sora."  
  
"For you, Izzy, anything. I'm more sure of how much I love you than anything else in my life ever."  
  
"Likewise, Sora, I assure you." They kissed again quickly, and then Izzy checked the clock. "5:45. When was your mom going to be back?"  
  
"She said she'd be gone probably another hour or so. Why do you ask? Could it be you want another go?" Sora asked, smiling slyly at him.  
  
"I think I could be persuaded." Izzy said, playing along now.  
  
"Oh, so you need to be persuaded? Sounds like a challenge to me."  
  
Sora moved from lying alongside Izzy to on top of him, kissing him as she pulled the sheets up over them both again.  
  
"And I love challenges." She added, before the two of them turned to more intimate activities yet again.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
It was Christmas Eve, and the stage in Odaiba Park was surrounded with a huge crowd that had turned out to see Mimi along with all of the musical guests. All of the Digidestined were assembled on stage as well, so it made for a complete reunion as well. Joe talked with Cody and Davis over eggnog. TK and Yolei were off on their own watching the bands play their sets and enjoying being together. Kari and Ken were doing likewise, but also wandered around to the other groups of friends as well. Tai was with Izzy, Sora, Matt and Mimi up by the microphone as she introduced her friends to the world.  
  
"These are all old friends of mine from here in Japan!" she tried to say over the cheering in English. She turned and looked at each of them as she introduced them "Taichi Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi, Koushirou Izumi, and Yamato Ishida, meet the world!"  
  
"Hey Mimi? What's the weird plant hanging from the boom microphone?" Matt asked, pointing up at it. Mimi looked up and just laughed as she recognized it as mistletoe.  
  
"It's a Western tradition, Matt!" she told him. "See, you're supposed to do something with someone underneath it."  
  
"Really? What?"  
  
Mimi answered him by grabbing him and planting a kiss on him right in front of the camera. Tai, Sora and Izzy all busted up laughing. Mimi broke off the kiss after a moment and flashed a smile at the camera. Matt shook his head vigorously as he looked up at the mistletoe again.  
  
"Damn! I love Western traditions!" he announced.  
  
"Our turn!" Sora said as she pushed Izzy underneath the mistletoe. She pulled herself up to him and kissed him passionately underneath it. Mimi looked back at them and giggled madly.  
  
"Hey Sora, not too intimate! This is supposed to be a family show after all!" she told her. Sora broke off the kiss to lean in close and murmur something to Mimi before she went back to Izzy and stepped back with him.  
  
"Woo! Way to go guys!" Mimi added, smirking at them.  
  
"Okay, what did we miss?" Tai asked, looking at the two.  
  
"Um, like Mimi said, it's a family show Tai. We'll talk later." Izzy told him. Tai just shrugged as he looked up at the mistletoe.  
  
"Hey, what about me though? Do I get to take part in this tradition too?" he asked.  
  
Mimi looked over at Matt and smiled evilly at him. Matt looked at her quizzically for a moment, but then caught on and shook his head at her. After another strong kiss from Mimi, Matt decided to go along with the joke. He motioned the boom mike down and grabbed the mistletoe, and then started moving towards Tai.  
  
"C'mere Tai!" he said, laughing maniacally.  
  
"Aaaaa!!! Get away from me Ishida!" Tai yelled out as he ran. Matt chased after him as Mimi, Izzy and Sora almost fell over laughing.  
  
"I thought you wanted a kiss, Tai!"  
  
"Bite me, Matt! And stop chasing me! Kari, Davis, somebody heeeeeeelp!!!!!"  
  
"Well, I'd better rescue Tai from Matt." Mimi said, finally recovering. "I also want to get around to the others to get them on camera."  
  
"We're cool, Mimi. We have something we want to tend to as well." Sora told her. Mimi nodded and went running after Matt, trying to get him to stop chasing Tai. Sora and Izzy went off to the Chistmas Tree that was set up on stage and sat next to it.  
  
"You first." Sora told Izzy, handing him a small, square box. Izzy took it and unwrapped it carefully, revealing it to be a velvet-covered box. He opened it to find an old-fashioned pocket watch inside with a solid gold chain.  
  
"Sora, wow! This is incredible!" he said, taking it out carefully.  
  
"It belonged to my grandfather. I had it cleaned up and wound, and I bought the new chain for it. I know you hate wristwatches after all."  
  
"Are you sure your family doesn't mind?"  
  
"Mom insisted on making it my present to you."  
  
"Thank you, Sora. It's your turn now, though." Izzy said, setting the watch back in its case and then placing the case next to him. "Now, I couldn't do much for wrapping because there's three parts to your gift here, so here you go."  
  
Izzy reached around the tree and set the gifts down in front of Sora. The most visible one was a medium sized, shaggy stuffed bear colored light brown with a red kerchief around its neck. It was holding a wrapped gift, and was sitting on top of another wrapped gift. Sora quickly scooped up the bear, hugging it tightly.  
  
"Izzy this is too cute! Thank you! Now let's see what this is." she said, unwrapping the gift the bear was holding. It turned out to be a picture frame with a picture of all of the Digidestined when they were much younger and all together with their partners. Sora touched the picture gently where she saw herself and Biyomon.  
  
"It's been a long time since we were all together, Digidestined and Digimon, so I thought you'd like something to remember old times." Izzy told her.  
  
"It's too thoughtful for words, Izzy. What could you possibly have in that third box for me?"  
  
"Open it and see." He said, sliding it over to her. Sora unwrapped it with care and opened the box, finding a much smaller wooden box inside. She lifted the top of the small box back and a sweet, gently melody began to play.  
  
"Izzy...it's beautiful! I've never gotten something so nice before..." she said as she listened to the melody. "How did you ever do all of this?"  
  
"Well, Hiroshi gave me some advice a while back. He actually gave me three ideas, and I couldn't decide which one to do, so I did them all." Izzy told her.  
  
"Izzy...thank you. This is the best Christmas ever."  
  
"Same here, Sora."  
  
As Sora went to kiss Izzy again, her locket fell off of her neck, landing on the stage. Izzy quickly picked it up and handed it back to her. As he did, the locket popped open.  
  
"It...it opened!" Sora said in amazement. She opened it further, looking inside. There was a tiny, old photo of her grandparents on one side, and an inscription on the other side in the form of a haiku poem. Sora read the poem aloud to the both of them.  
  
~o/ Our two wayward hearts Will never be apart long Love always prevails. /o~  
  
"My grandfather must have given this to my grandmother before he left for the war." Sora said. "It's so beautiful sounding..."  
  
"And true, for us as well as them." Izzy told her as he took the locket from her hands, fastening it around her neck again. "I'll never be far from you again, Sora. Ever."  
  
"I know, Izzy. I'll never be far from you either." Sora said, looking at him with a look of true happiness. "Like my locket says, Love always prevails."  
  
The party continued on around them, though for the moment all that mattered to Sora and Izzy was each other. They, like her grandparents before them, were two wayward hearts that had finally found their way back to each other. And nothing would ever separate them again. 


	14. A Hint of Things to Come

A Hint of Things to Come  
  
Izzy stirred a bit as daylight peeked into the room. His eyes fluttered open and began looking around the room, which was a spacious hotel room. The events of the past couple of days came flooding back to his mind, though the events of the past twelve hours were most fresh and vivid. He thought to stretch out in bed for a moment, but hesitated as he looked down and smiled to himself.  
  
Sora lay partially on his chest, still sound asleep and with a completely content look on her face. Stretching out would have woken her up. Instead, Izzy just relaxed and stroked her hair gently, enjoying the closeness of their nude bodies beneath the sheets. Soon enough, she began to stir a bit as well, and looked up at him through half-open eyes after a moment.  
  
"Mmm, morning." She said sleepily.  
  
"Sleep well?" Izzy asked quietly.  
  
"How could I not?" she hugged herself close to him briefly, and then rolled onto her back, stretching out. "What time is it?"  
  
"7:15" Izzy said, looking over at the clock.  
  
"Good. I didn't want to waste our last day here just sleeping."  
  
Izzy nodded in agreement and hopped out of bed, pulling a pair of boxer shorts on. He surveyed the room and chuckled, seeing the remnants of their clothing from the previous day strewn all over the place.  
  
"We were sure negligent as far as our clothes went, weren't we?" he remarked as he tried to clean up a little.  
  
"I don't know about you, but by the time the reception was over last night I only had one thing on my mind." Sora replied, smirking to herself as she sat up, holding the sheet to herself.  
  
"Yeah, but one of my shoes ended up in the garbage can!"  
  
"Lucky shot." Sora just shrugged at him. "Still, Emi and Hiroshi's wedding certainly was nice."  
  
"Except for the fact that we didn't get to see each until the service itself."  
  
"Yeah, that kinda sucked. But we certainly made up for it, didn't we?"  
  
Izzy just smiled and nodded at her as he stepped out onto the balcony of the suite. The view was not unlike something he had only seen in travel magazines before.  
  
The balcony overlooked a stretch of beachfront that was pure white as far as the eye could see. Crystal blue waters washed up onto the shore, the rhythmic sound of their crashing against land sounding soothing to him. A gentle breeze played by him and through his hair, almost as if the air was sighing as he gazed out over the endless blue of the ocean. The sun was still rising, and a thousand different colors streaked the sky, looking as if an artist had taken his paints to the canvas that was the sky and had painted a perfect sunrise. Sora had been right in what she had said when they first stepped off the plane. This place was something of a paradise.  
  
Sora joined him on the balcony after slipping into a bathrobe and tying it tightly around her waist. She stood next to Izzy and sighed contentedly as she enjoyed the view as well.  
  
"It certainly was a stroke of luck that they were able to have the wedding here." Izzy commented after a moment.  
  
"Nothing lucky about it. One of Emi's uncles is a big time hotel owner and insisted they have the wedding and everything here in Hawaii. I guess this is the same uncle that helped her learn English to begin with, and they've always been close." Sora explained.  
  
"Well, I say we get cleaned up and get some breakfast, and then let's enjoy our last day in paradise."  
  
"I agree wholeheartedly. You want the shower first?"  
  
"If you don't mind."  
  
"Well, if you take too long I'll just come and join you." Sora joked, slugging him gently in the shoulder as she headed back inside.  
  
"Hey, you won't hear me argue." Izzy replied as he headed for the bathroom.  
  
"Izzy, we need to get out of the room at some point."  
  
Izzy just nodded at her and headed into the bathroom for his shower. Sora turned on the TV in the meantime as she set out some light clothing for the day. All the stations were in English, and although she'd gotten some good tutoring from Emi and Hiroshi before school had ended she still didn't really understand much of what was being said. It was at least background noise. She grabbed her diary quickly and looked over her last entry, which had been yesterday before the wedding.  
  
'Well, another year of college has come and gone, but so much changed this past year that looking back I can't believe how much different things are now.' Sora thought as she read the same in her diary. 'Izzy and I have been together for half a year now officially, though I have a hard time remembering when I didn't have him in my life. I find myself loving him a little more every day, and he tells me the same as well.  
  
'Ever since Christmas time, too, our physical relationship has just blossomed. Everything just feels so good and right with him that I just can't compare it to anything I ever felt with Matt. Of course it helps that Izzy's a quick learner.  
  
'We're not the only ones who've had our situations change dramatically over the past year, though. Kari's been dating Ken since around Valentine's Day. I guess they patched things up from the mess from before and decided to pick up where they left off.  
  
'TK and Yolei have grown really close as well. Cody tells me that they act a lot like Izzy and I do around each other. Here's to hoping they wait a while before they decide to take things to the next step, though.  
  
'And then there's Matt and Mimi. Boy, none of us saw that coming. They're still mostly maintaining things long-distance, but with Mimi's new focus on the culinary arts she has a lot more free time on her hands, and she comes to visit whenever she has a break at school. I wish them nothing but the best.  
  
'I also hear that Tai's seeing a girl from his school, and Joe got hooked up as well. Love seems to have sprung up everywhere among us Digidestined. I guess I'm just a trendsetter.  
  
'Of course, love hasn't been isolated just to my Digidestined friends. No sooner were Izzy and I back at school than Emi and Hiroshi told us they were getting married! I wasn't so much shocked to find that out as I was shocked that Izzy managed to keep it secret from me for so long. I got some good tickle-based retribution out of him for that one, though.  
  
'Anyhow, I write this as I wait to be picked up by Emi and the other girls. We're all going to get our hair done for the wedding. I am her Maid of Honor after all. Hiroshi made Izzy an usher for the wedding too, so he could be a part of things. It kinda sucks that I have to dance once or twice with Hiroshi's best man, Ryuunosuke, but at least I'll get to see my Izzy in a tuxedo. Mmm...I'd better stop there, or I'll leave drool marks in here. Yuck!  
  
'The best part of all of this is that as I write this I'm in my hotel room...in Hawaii! This place is an absolute paradise! I can't wait to go with Izzy for a walk on the beach sometime. It will happen. Oh yes, it will happen.  
  
'Still, all of this wedding stuff makes me think about Izzy and me, though. I mean, I don't expect anything to happen soon, but I can't help but wonder if the question is running through his head. Maybe when we're done with college, but not now. I think we've both got enough to deal with without getting married anyway. Besides, we're having more fun together than two people should be allowed to have as it is, so I won't worry about it.  
  
'Still...Sora Izumi...kinda sounds nice to me.'  
  
Sora closed and locked her diary, and put it back into her night stand's drawer as she giggled in delight, thinking about her and Izzy. She then heard the water go on in the bathroom and heard Izzy stepping into the shower.  
  
'We should get out of the room and have fun today...' she thought. She then smiled slyly to herself as she headed for the bathroom herself, shedding her robe as she entered and closed the door behind her '...but then again, when are we going to have another opportunity like this for time alone?'  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
The hotel had an extremely nice buffet breakfast, and Izzy and Sora decided to eagerly partake in it considering neither of them had eaten much the previous day due to being busy with helping with the wedding. Once done, the two headed out for a day of traveling around the island of Maui, armed with a disposable camera, a couple hundred dollars in American money, and their gradually improving English skills. It was a recipe for fun if ever there was one.  
  
Sora hadn't brought a swimsuit with her, and they did want to hit the beach later that day, so she pulled Izzy into a store and proceeded to model about a dozen different swimsuits for him. After about a half an hour, and seeing many different levels of reactions out of her boyfriend, she decided on a red, string bikini and also bought a multi-colored wrap to go with it to wear around her waist. Izzy let her know as they departed the story that she could do something like that with him again anytime she wished.  
  
They stopped at several other stores along the way, looking over trinkets and making sure to get souvenirs for everyone back home. Izzy also picked up a pair of cheap sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt, which he wore and posed for Sora in. Sora couldn't help but bust up laughing, and managed to get a photo of him posing like the goofball he was acting like. He wore the shirt and shades for the rest of their time about.  
  
After a quick lunch, they hopped onto a tour bus and rode around, seeing the sights of the island. It gave them a chance to rest their tired feet, and the many sights of Maui were interesting to see as well. They got back to their room at about 4:00 PM and saw to packing some of their acquisitions and clothes. Finally, both of them grabbed a chair and decided to relax for a while.  
  
"Maui in a day...well, now we can say it's possible!" Izzy pronounced.  
  
"Yeah, though my feet aren't going to forgive me any time soon for this." Sora said as she tossed her sandals off.  
  
"So what do you want to do for dinner?"  
  
"I think the hotel has a cookout of some kind on the beach that starts in an hour or so. We'd be able to hit the beach and get something to eat at the same time."  
  
"Sounds good to me. I say we just take it easy until then."  
  
"I couldn't agree more." Sora said, closing her eyes as she rolled her head back in her chair. "You know, it might be fun to do a trip like this sometime with the others along with us."  
  
"Definitely would be fun. Not much chance for alone time, but fun nonetheless." Izzy said in agreement.  
  
"Well, we're creative enough. I'm sure we could figure out a way to disappear for a while if we just wanted to be 'us' for a while."  
  
Izzy looked over and could hear in her voice that Sora was really very tired. He stood back up and stretched his arms our a bit.  
  
"I think I'll go down and do some beachcombing for a bit, see what I can find. You can relax and take a nap or something if you want."  
  
"Oh, do you mind? I'm sorry, Izzy, I'm just kinda zonked right now is all." Sora said sleepily.  
  
"Have a good nap." He said, leaning down and kissing her forehead gently. "I'll meet you down there for the cookout, okay?"  
  
Sora nodded at him and watched him leave before getting up and flopping onto the bed, quickly falling into a pleasant afternoon nap.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
The sun was just beginning to set as Izzy took a seat a ways away from the roaring bonfire that was now going on the beach. There was food of all kinds to be had, but he didn't want to partake in anything until Sora arrived. He took a moment to look over the collection of shells he'd managed to find while he'd been down on the beach. As he took to meticulously cleaning away bits of sand from the shells and admiring them, he didn't immediately notice someone approach the opposite side of the bonfire and look across the way at him. After a few moments, he finally put his shells aside and looked up  
  
Sora was smiling at him from the other side of the bonfire. She was in the red bikini and wrap she'd bought earlier that day. A white lei hung around her neck, as well as her locket, and a wreath of flowers adorned her head. As she stepped around the fire towards him, Izzy thought for a moment that he was being approached not by Sora, but some kind of island goddess. He quickly stood up and brushed himself off as she neared him.  
  
"Did I keep you waiting long?" Sora asked sweetly.  
  
"N-n-no! I just sat down a minute ago and..." Izzy said stammering as he spoke. He regained control of himself a few moments later. "Sora, you look absolutely beautiful."  
  
"Two of the girls on the way in insisted on giving me this treatment." She said, indicating the lei and the flowers.  
  
"I mean it, though. I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you are right now." Izzy said, taking her hands into his. Sora blushed at his flattery, and smiled at him warmly. She could tell the feeling behind his words was genuine.  
  
"Thank you, Izzy. I've never been quite so complimented."  
  
"Well, uh...want to get something to eat or something?"  
  
"Could we walk for a bit?"  
  
"Sure! Absolutely!"  
  
Sora smiled and stepped alongside him, taking his hand in hers as they walked the beach, just beyond the reach of the water that was washing up onto shore. They were silent for some time until they reached a relatively secluded section of beach.  
  
"Can I talk to you about something...Koushirou?" Sora asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Izzy stopped in his tracks as she spoke. She had called him by his name, not his nickname for once. It had to be something important.  
  
"You can talk to me about anything, Sora." Izzy said, facing her.  
  
"I thought about this for a while after I woke up from my nap. Bear with me, because this is kind of hard for me to talk about." She said, taking a deep breath. She did her best to meet his gaze as she spoke, though her heart was a mixture of anxiousness and fear.  
  
"Take you time. I'll listen." Izzy said, reassuring her.  
  
"Yesterday, just before the wedding, I was helping tend to the final touches on Emi's dress before she walked down the aisle." Sora began. "At one point, she asked Rei and Kimiko to leave the room so she and I could have a moment alone..."  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
Rei and Kimiko left the room, making sure the door closed behind them. Sora stepped around in front of Emi, who was smiling at her, her own nerves notwithstanding.  
  
"Well, this is it. After this, everything changes." Emi said. "You've been the best friend I could ask for through all of this, Sora. I'm glad you agreed to be my Maid of Honor."  
  
"I was happy to be there for you. And don't worry, you two are perfect for each other, Emi. Everybody can see it. For that matter, I can't think of two people I'd rather see tie the knot." Sora told her encouragingly.  
  
"Really? Funny you should say that, because I can." Emi told her. Sora looked at her with a puzzled look for a moment before she grasped what Emi was trying to tell her.  
  
"Emi...it's way too soon for us." Sora told her, shaking her head.  
  
"How long have you known him, Sora?" Emi asked.  
  
"Izzy? Practically my whole life. We grew up together, after all."  
  
"Is he your friend?"  
  
"Of course! He always has made a point of saying that he's my friend before anything else. And I've always been his friend for that matter, too."  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
Sora closed her eyes and thought of Izzy, smiling a little as she did. She opened her eyes again and smiled at Emi as she gave her answer.  
  
"With all of my heart."  
  
"Can you honestly see yourself loving anyone more than him?"  
  
"No, not ever. Emi, what're you getting at?"  
  
Emi smiled at her friend after she was finished with the questions and approached her a little bit more.  
  
"My mother asked me those four questions after Hiroshi proposed to me, and I answered them just about the same as you did. Do you know what she said, then?"  
  
"What did she say?" Sora asked, intrigued.  
  
"She said, 'Then Emi, dear, you've found your one and only, and I wish you nothing but happiness and love.'"  
  
Emi stepped up to Sora, placing her hands on her shoulders before she spoke to Sora from the bottom of her heart.  
  
"I may have gone first, but the next wedding I want to be at is yours and Izzy's. Sora, dear, you've found your one and only, and I wish you nothing but happiness and love."  
  
"Emi...I-I don't know what to say." Sora said, stunned at Emi's pronunciation. "All I guess I can say is, if it's in the stars, then you'll be first to be invited."  
  
"You won't need luck, Sora. Trust me."  
  
The two friends hugged briefly before Emi stood back up straight, pulling her veil into place.  
  
"Well, let's do this thing, shall we?"  
  
"Absolutely." Sora nodded and opened the door, then taking place behind Emi to help get her train out of the door and onward to her new life.  
  
_ _ _ _ _  
  
"...every word I spoke then, every answer I gave her was the utmost truth that came from my heart." Sora said, finishing her recap of her conversation with Emi. "I love you that much, Koushirou. What I want to know is...how do you feel?"  
  
"Sora, I..." Izzy felt his throat go a bit tight and dry. Words seemed to escape him for a moment, but he summoned up his willpower and forced himself to have the courage to answer her.  
  
"I'd be lying if I didn't say that I love you back every bit as much, Sora. But I think you're right in saying it's way too soon for us."  
  
"Right. I understand." Sora said, smiling a little at him. She looked down a little, feeling embarrassed about bringing the topic up.  
  
"That being the case, let me also say this." Izzy said, stepping closer to her. He cupped her chin in his hand gently, lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. Sora felt her heart flying as she looked at him again, feeling like she was hanging by his every word.  
  
"There's no other person I'd want to spend the rest of my life with than you." He told her. "You are my one and only as well, Sora."  
  
"Koushirou..." Sora's voice was barely a whisper as she said his name. She felt tears of happiness fall down her face as she smiled at him. Izzy reached up to brush her tears away, but she caught him up in as loving a kiss as she'd ever given him before. He kissed her back just as lovingly for a long moment. They broke off the kiss, smiling at each other a little sheepishly.  
  
"If I had the means, I'd make it official here and now, Sora." Izzy told her.  
  
"Don't worry about that now." Sora told him, smiling as she dried the last of her tears. "We'll get around to that soon enough. Besides, we still want to have some fun together before we start worrying about things like that, right?"  
  
"Absolutely. Well, shall we head back and get something to eat?"  
  
Sora took a moment to look out at the setting sun and took a deep breath that seemed to cleanse her entire being. The conundrum had been solved, and all had been resolved at last. Love had finally found her after she had tried to blindly search for it for so long. She stepped back alongside Izzy and took his hand in hers, lacing her fingers between his.  
  
"That sounds...prodigious!" she told him, laughing a little after she spoke.  
  
Izzy laughed along with her and started to walk back with her. The future could wait for now. They were both too busy just having fun together. 


End file.
